Away from Her

Winged Cognition
27 year old Sarah Polley made her directorial debut for a feature film with this movie. She had previously directed four short films, and a TV episode. Most of her past notoriety was for being a fine actress, having already appeared in more than 50 films since 1985. She was 9 years old when she did Terry Gilliam's ADVENTURES OF BARON MUNCHAUSEN (1988). She spent several years as a child star on the television series ROAD TO AVONLEA. She appeared in THE SWEET HEREAFTER, GUINEVERE, and in THE CLAIM (2000). Recently I enjoyed her work with Sam Shepard in Wim Wender's DON'T COME KNOCKING (2005).

Polley's mother died when she was 11 years old. She considers actress Julie Christie to be her "surrogate mother". She worked with her twice before in NO SUCH THING (2000), and LIFE OF WORDS (2005). Originally Polley wanted to do a feature film about a 12 year old girl who finds herself being the star of a TV series, something she knows a little about -but there was no financial...

Dance while you can
AWAY FROM HER is a film about an elderly couple that copes with Alzheimer's disease. Director Sarah Polley take's Alice Munro's short story, "The Bear Came Over the Mountain," and shows viewers the relationship between Fiona (Julie Christie) and Grant (Gordon Pinsent). Although the film is based on Munro's story, Polley adds more to the film's storyline, such as her focus on Grant's denial and slow acceptance of Fiona's deteriorating condition, and the long drawn out scenes at Meadowlake, the facility where Fiona decides to spend the rest of her life, which adds another dimension to story and the film.

Polley does a fine job in showing the intricacies that may occur in a marriage. The film takes place in Ontario, Canada, where a somewhat remote and snow-covered landscape captures the cold and emotionless feelings between Grant and Fiona. With the use of subtle home movie-like snapshots that capture the couple's past, the images show the irony of their lives; this is yet...

How Many of Us Would Settle for What We Eventually Get?
There is a line from YOU CAN'T TAKE IT WITH YOU in which Grandpa asks:
"How many of us, when we're young, would settle for what we eventually get?"

What is extraordinary about Julie Christie's performance in this film is that Fiona settles for, and builds upon, what life deals her with a level of emotional discipline half inspiring, half maddening to her husband.

As the husband, Gordon Pinsent delivers a performance as racked with confusion, pain and nuance as any I have seen in movies for years. The complexity of his character is as enigmatic as Fiona's. Together, their love story provides hope for anyone who has stopped believing in love.

While this film sheds light on Fiona's descent into Alzheimer's disease, the film is neither about dementia nor is it about the hopelessness that often surrounds it. It is about the unexpected storms that overtake relationships and the ways in which two good people come to grips with disruption. For Alice...

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