Sarah Polley ("The I Inside", "The Life Before This", "My life without me" and others), a fantastic independent actress, has directed a movie now; which is, of course, very independent. It is called "Away From Her" and, after a blinding white gives way to some credits, the voice of a man tells a beautiful short anecdote; about how his wife proposed to him.
This is Grant (Gordon Pinsent), and there's tenderness in his voice that turns to be very unusual for a guy his age. It's just that he has lived his life and has learned to be patient, because his wife Fiona (Julie Christie) has been loosing her memory for some time now; and he's standing right by her side. Alzheimer is a difficult issue to deal with in film There's a brilliant Argentine film, "El hijo de la novia ("The Son of the Bride"), and it managed to make the whole country cry and laugh at the same time as it dealt with such a strong issue.
Polley has achieved the same thing with her first directing attempt, even when it's not at all brilliant. The Canadian actress has worked a lot with director Isabel Coixet, and it is clear in "Away From Her" that she's taken a lot from the Spanish filmmaker. However, I remember Coixet's direction with a lot of quiet observations, which most of the time didn't last too long. Polley's observation is the dominant aspect of her film; as the camera shows incredible shots and follows the characters or simply the environment, while Jonathan Goldsmith's catchy score plays in the background.
There's so much to see in "Away From Her" because it is Polley's intention for us to do so. Hers is the slowest movie I've seen so far this year, but that doesn't make it less affectionate. Maybe it is slow because that's the way old people go through the last phase of their lives Very slowly. Grant is a caring man who loves his wife so much that even when he persuades her to go into a clinic, he backs down at the last minutes and tells her: "Don't go Don't go like this".
Fiona, on the other hand, is nothing more than the same; only that she finds difficult to remember or to find the love she feels, because of her condition. On the same day she checks-in to the clinic, she and Grant go to her new bedroom. "You know what I would like? I would like to make love and then I would like you to go". This is how she expresses her feelings. And Grant is a very wise man, we realize from his conversations with other characters, but is unable to act wisely about what's happening because he's blinded by love; and we are fools when we are in love. The age doesn't matter.
And they are the only ones who really matter in the film. There are some great supporting characters, superbly performed by the supporting actors, but it's really about Gordon Pinsent's portrayal of unconditional kindness and romance; and Julie Christie's flame that never seems to go away, even when her character seems hopeless. What a way to carry a film.
If what she used for directing wasn't so original, Polley makes it up with a moving script, away from dullness in each of its words. It's not long at all, considering that it is based on Alice Munro's short story ("The Illusionist" was based on a short story and ran a bit longer than it should have); and it contains unexpected moments of comedy that relief the viewer from a constant air of depression and sadness. Apparently Polley knows old aged people, because the jokes they make and the things they say, sound as things both of my grandmothers would say.
Don't stay away from "Away From Her" and wait for Polley's next movie; I'm sure it will have that 'spark of life' so characteristic of Fiona, and hopefully more personality.
This is Grant (Gordon Pinsent), and there's tenderness in his voice that turns to be very unusual for a guy his age. It's just that he has lived his life and has learned to be patient, because his wife Fiona (Julie Christie) has been loosing her memory for some time now; and he's standing right by her side. Alzheimer is a difficult issue to deal with in film There's a brilliant Argentine film, "El hijo de la novia ("The Son of the Bride"), and it managed to make the whole country cry and laugh at the same time as it dealt with such a strong issue.
Polley has achieved the same thing with her first directing attempt, even when it's not at all brilliant. The Canadian actress has worked a lot with director Isabel Coixet, and it is clear in "Away From Her" that she's taken a lot from the Spanish filmmaker. However, I remember Coixet's direction with a lot of quiet observations, which most of the time didn't last too long. Polley's observation is the dominant aspect of her film; as the camera shows incredible shots and follows the characters or simply the environment, while Jonathan Goldsmith's catchy score plays in the background.
There's so much to see in "Away From Her" because it is Polley's intention for us to do so. Hers is the slowest movie I've seen so far this year, but that doesn't make it less affectionate. Maybe it is slow because that's the way old people go through the last phase of their lives Very slowly. Grant is a caring man who loves his wife so much that even when he persuades her to go into a clinic, he backs down at the last minutes and tells her: "Don't go Don't go like this".
Fiona, on the other hand, is nothing more than the same; only that she finds difficult to remember or to find the love she feels, because of her condition. On the same day she checks-in to the clinic, she and Grant go to her new bedroom. "You know what I would like? I would like to make love and then I would like you to go". This is how she expresses her feelings. And Grant is a very wise man, we realize from his conversations with other characters, but is unable to act wisely about what's happening because he's blinded by love; and we are fools when we are in love. The age doesn't matter.
And they are the only ones who really matter in the film. There are some great supporting characters, superbly performed by the supporting actors, but it's really about Gordon Pinsent's portrayal of unconditional kindness and romance; and Julie Christie's flame that never seems to go away, even when her character seems hopeless. What a way to carry a film.
If what she used for directing wasn't so original, Polley makes it up with a moving script, away from dullness in each of its words. It's not long at all, considering that it is based on Alice Munro's short story ("The Illusionist" was based on a short story and ran a bit longer than it should have); and it contains unexpected moments of comedy that relief the viewer from a constant air of depression and sadness. Apparently Polley knows old aged people, because the jokes they make and the things they say, sound as things both of my grandmothers would say.
Don't stay away from "Away From Her" and wait for Polley's next movie; I'm sure it will have that 'spark of life' so characteristic of Fiona, and hopefully more personality.