Mia Farrow (Rosemary's Baby) "Diane McGowin" is an attorney. She finds herself forgetting things, especially short term memories. She suspects that something is wrong and goes to the doctor and after many tests the diagnosis was Alzheimer's. I love Mia Farrow and appreciate her work and have a deep appreciation for all the kids she rose and the trials she had to go throughout in her personal life.
Well, I wish I had seen this movie about fifteen years ago, when my mother was having the same problems. This movie gives you an inside look into the mind of an Alzheimer's patient. It is very difficult to comprehend the nuances as an outsider of the sad, funny, and depressing moments they go through. Their short term memory begins to go, their personality changes, the little things that they do which annoy people are accentuated. They become utterly confused. This movie depicts it really well.
Diana did not want to tell her husband, played by Martin Sheen (Platoon, Apocalypse Now), because she thought her husband would be worried about money since she made more money than he did. After she was diagnosed with Alzheimer's, Diane asked the doctor how long she had until her mind turn into a vegetable, and just started laughing. She pretended she was going to work and dressed up so her husband would not find out then went back to bed, then dress up again. Finally she had to give a speech at a political party meeting. The entire room began to turn as she had no idea of where she was, called her house by reading her own cheque book and her son recognized her voice. He came and got her and she was forced to tell her family that she had Alzheimer's which they knew to a certain degree.
She befriended a professor who had the illness and they begin to do things together. That is an interesting point because his illness is much more advanced than hers. She can learn where she is heading. She started a therapy group with people who shared the same illness. This movie is based in a true story. Didactically show the steps of progression of the illness to the audience. It was enlightening to me.
Finally after Diana's friend had an episode where he did not recognize his family and had to go to a home, she goes to her place of peace, the attic of her mothers house. She found all the memories in pictures and also a book that her mother had a swatch of blue marked as blue, red and so on. She knew her mother had the same illness. Her husband found her and they made peace. He would be there for her at all costs. I recorded this movie and watched twice already.
My favorite scenes: The little notes she makes to herself in color charts, marks of direction, her understanding of her friend, the attic scenes.
My favorite Quotes: Friend: "Are you out of your mind?" Diana: "Matched! I got Alzheimer's remember? Diana: "If we can find the airport, we can have a swell time!" "We could walk our way to the sunset but we wouldn't find our way back." They laughed.
The acting was superb. Mia Farrow did a wonderful job as did Martin Sheen and the rest of the cast. Watch out for awards!
