Product Description

Based on a short story by acclaimed author Alice Munroe, 'Away From Her' is the dazzling, lyrical and intensely moving debut of award-winning actress, writer and director Sarah Polley. Married for 50 years, Fiona (Julie Christie) and Grant's (Gordon Pinsent) commitment to each other appears unwavering and their everyday life is full of tenderness and humour. This serenity is broken by increasing tension created by Fiona's erratic memory loss and the couple's uncertainty only increases as the behaviour becomes more obvious and dramatic. Unable to ignore what is happening, Grant is forced to confront his own anguish and embarks on the greatest act of self-sacrifice of his life as a means to attaining his wife's final happiness. Beautifully acted and impeccably directed, this is the ultimate expression of memory, devotion and the circuitous, sometime unfathomable path of true love.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #4501 in DVD
• Released on: 2007-09-17
• Rating: Suitable for 12 years and over
• Format: PAL
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 110 minutes

Synopsis
Canadian actress Sarah Polley makes an impressive directorial debut with AWAY FROM HER, a film adapted from the Alice Munro story 'The Bear Came Over The Mountain'. The plot concerns the way in which the 50-year marriage of Grant (Gordon Pinsent) and Fiona (Julie Christie) deteriorates with the progression of Fiona’s Alzheimer’s disease. Rich scenery, intimate cinematography, and familiar songs like Neil Young’s 'Helpless' create a private world of two people enviably in love. Fiona and Grant have carved out a piece of the world for themselves, and have lived together happily in their later years until Fiona’s memory started to wane. The harmony in their lives is lost when Fiona decides she’s reached the point of no return and enters a retirement home in order to take the burden off Grant, though he can think of nothing worse than being away from her. After dropping Fiona off, Grant is forced to not visit for 30 days, which, as he fears, ends up feeling much longer in the mind of a person who is losing her memory. AWAY FROM HER features stunning performances from its leads as well as from Michael Murphy as Aubrey (a patient Fiona forms a close bond with), Olympia Dukakis as Aubrey’s wife, and Kristen Thomson as a nurse at the facility. Instead of treating old age as the winding down of life, this film portrays it as a potentially rich, enjoyable period. Grant and Fiona never yearn for the days of their youth, but rather for the later years when their intimacy had reached a higher peak. While so many films portray older characters in a one-dimensional way, Polley’s film portrays its characters as multifaceted people filled with wisdom and true beauty, thanks to their age and not in spite of it.

Customer Reviews

Shallow and sugar-coated
The three lead actors acted well, within the severe limitations of the anodyne script, but this was a shallow and sugar-coated film that wasn't a patch on "Iris", either for realism or emotion. I was starting to wonder if the two Alzheimers patients and their spouses were going to get together as a soft-focussed foursome and gambol across the snowy fields in slow motion, playing snowballs.

Lost for words
What in heavens name possessed such a fine set of individual actors to do such an unispired, drab and lumbering film? The direction was laboured and disjointed; surely the actors must have thought from time to time, "where are we going with this"? Yes, this is a sensitive subject, yes this is something which effects many people around the world, and yes this potrays the emotions and dilemmas that many face daily. But is this a real and accurate view of these issues? And, is it entertainment? I have to say that I feel the answer to both these questions is NO. I found the script poorly put together, which coupled with the too light direction meant that the final product was a dissappointment.

heartbreaking story!
Loved this film, found it amazingly tough to watch, sincere empathy for the husband!!!! I agree that for anyone who has first hand experience of such a debilitating illness it may not be a true reflection of how distressing it can be for everyone involved, but for my money it does a great job introducing the concept of what can happen.

Thumbs up, would recommend this film highly. Another great film is The Sea Inside - look it up - you won't be disappointed!!!!