Synopsis
A man coping with the institutionalization of his wife because of Alzheimer's disease faces an epiphany when she transfers her affections to another man, a wheel chair-bound mute who also is a patient at the nursing home.
2006 Directed by Sarah Polley
A man coping with the institutionalization of his wife because of Alzheimer's disease faces an epiphany when she transfers her affections to another man, a wheel chair-bound mute who also is a patient at the nursing home.
Foundry Films Capri Releasing HanWay Films Echo Lake Entertainment Téléfilm Canada Canadian Television Fund The Movie Network Super Écran Astral Media Ontario Media Development Corporation (OMDC) Movie Central Corus Entertainment CBC Ontario Film and Television Tax Credit (OFTTC) Hollydan Works Pulling Focus Pictures The Film Farm
Loin d'elle, 어웨이 프롬 허
This is a 2000s indie drama that managed to propel a stellar Julie Christie to a Golden Globe Award, a Critics Choice Award and a SAG Award for Best Actress. This type of acclaim and collection of accolades is rare for such an indie, but Christie being the name she is and delivering a performance that is so subtly stellar makes you realize that it all makes sense. However, when someone receives these awards in particular they usually take home the Oscar for Best Actress but Christie failed to do so, losing to Marion Cotillard’s performance in La Vie en Rose. While Christie delivers what is possibly her finest performance to date, Cotillard’s transcendent portrayal of world-famous singer Édith Piaf…
It seems to be an incredibly rare thing, to deliver a cinematic love story that actually feels authentic and genuine. Over the course of each year, week after week, films are released that are supposed to convey the emotional power of love starring two gorgeous individuals between the ages of 18 - 35. In these 94 minute shit storms, we see these quirky characters deliver a clunky, predictable script with various pop songs playing as they at some point during the narrative break up, only to find each other again at the end, probably in Times Square at night when it's snowing. If these films demonstrate true expectations for romance, it's no wonder why every god damn couple gets divorced.…
Sarah Polley: Super Bowl XLII MVP
This is a story about how Sarah Polley made me a better person while helping the New York Giants defeat the 18-0 New England Patriots on February 3, 2008 in Glendale, Arizona at Super Bowl XLII.
To begin, due to failing health, mainly Parkinson’s disease, my grandfather (who everyone, including myself called "The Mick") is forced to move into a nursing home in January 2007. My aunt and I move him in, I clean out his old apartment, get all his affairs in order, closing bank accounts, making sure Medicaid was covering certain expenses, it was the first time I truly felt like an adult doing adult shit.
I was still mentally immature, though.…
"It's curious. All of them madly in love business, The beginning. I hear myself tell the story and it all sounds so... crucial. I suppose it is. But compared to what we ended up with untill recently ... All of that seems so superficial"
Heartbreking...
Loved both lead performances. I just wanted to hug the man and cry for half of the movie.
The scrypt is very well-written too
And I loooooove the poster btw
#9 of 12 films in my Adapted Screenplay Challenge
Marital relationships are rarely easy or straightforward. In the 1999 short story entitled "The Bear Came Over the Mountain" by Canadian Nobel Laureate Alice Munro, we get to know Professor Grant Anderson from the inside, sharing his thoughts about his wife Fiona. It's a history stretching over some 50 years, from the first time he met her as a bright young student to the day he committed her to Meadowlake, a home for the elderly suffering from various degrees of dementia.
During her convalescence, Fiona strikes up a friendship with a wheelchair-bound resident named Aubrey Barque. The two become close, maybe too close, but as Grant recalls his earlier affairs and…
Fuck.
This was really, really good. Showcases how life is both permanent, and impermanent. What power we still have over our lives, even when we are at the whim of a changing world.
Julie Christy is amazing, but holy hell Gordon Pinsent should have equal praise because experiencing this journey through his eyes is just heartbreaking and revelatory.
All throughout high school it was required we take skill assessment tests online to appropriately categorize what our futures would look like, career-wise. It'd take the subjects we showed interest in, the personality traits we exhibited, and our grades into consideration; countless questions eventually churned out a list of about 20 careers in which we displayed promise.
When asked - because, of course, preteens love to pry - I would always tell my classmates that my number one option was a teacher, because it was on my list after all.
Truthfully, every year the same unfavourable career landed on the top of my recommendations: geriatric counsellor. I was so opposed, so grossed out, so far up my own snobbish ass…
A pretty solid film about marriage and Alzheimers. Good performances all around and lots of nice shots of snowy rural Canada.
Considering the films subject matter, the fact this re-watch happened because I'd forgotten I've already seen it is a bit of strange coincidence. Anyway, it's just as depressing and heartbreaking on a re-watch as it was the first time I saw it.
Ron recommendation: Must see.
The following are FACTS:
- Sarah Polley is an incredible talent.
- This film is a beautiful and poetic depiction of Alzheimer's Disease.
- Women know how to portray women best
- Julie Christie deserved an Oscar for this performance.
- I cried in both the first ten minutes and the last ten minutes (also intermittently throughout...)