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Away from Her

Canada

2006

110 Min
Color
1.85:1
English
  • Currently 3.6/5 Stars.
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DIR Sarah Polley

EXEC Atom Egoyan, Doug Mankoff

PROD Daniel Iron, Jennifer Weiss, Simone Urdl

SCR Sarah Polley, Alice Munro

DP Luc Montpellier

CAST Julie Christie, Gordon Pinsent, Olympia Dukakis, Michael Murphy, Kristen Thomson, Alberta Watson, Wendy Crewson

ED David Wharnsby

PROD DES Kathleen Climie

MUSIC Jonathan Goldsmith

SOUND Jane Tattersall

Toronto (Gala), Sundance (Premieres), Berlinale (Panorama), São Paulo, Berlinale (Retrospective)

Synopsis

Married for 50 years, Grant and Fiona’s commitment to each other appears unwavering, and their everyday life is full of tenderness and humour. This serenity is broken only by the occasional, carefully restrained reference to the past, giving a sense that this marriage may not always have been such a fairy tale. This tendency of Fiona’s to make such references, along with her increasingly evident memory loss, creates a tension that is usually brushed off casually by both of them. As the lapses become more obvious and dramatic, it is no longer possible for either of them to ignore the fact that Fiona is suffering from Alzheimer’s disease.

Eventually, Fiona decides that it is time for her to enter into Meadowlake, a retirement home that specializes in the disease. One of the more archaic rules of Meadowlake is that a patient may not have any visitors during their first month in the facility in order to “adjust.” After an excruciatingly painful 30 days separated from his wife, Grant returns to Meadowlake to discover Fiona seems to have no memory of him and has turned all of her affection to Aubrey, another resident in the home.

Away from Her is the screenplay adaptation of celebrated author Alice Munro’s short story The Bear Came Over the Mountain.

Fiona and Grant have been married for over forty years. Little by little, they have to face the fact that Fiona’s growing absent-mindedness is a symptom of Alzheimer’s disease. After Fiona is found lost after having wandered away from home, man and wife agree that she must go to a specialized nursing home. For the first time in their life, they have to undergo a long term separation, due to the nursing home policy for the first month after a patient’s admission. Grant visits Fiona after this separation period and finds out that she has apparently forgotten him and that she has focused her affection on another man, Aubrey.

Director

Original

Sarah Polley

Known as much for her intelligence as for her talent, Canadian actress Sarah Polley has been wowing television and film audiences since she was barely out of diapers. Born January 8, 1979, in the Toronto area, Polley got her first screen role at the age of six, in Disney’s One Magic Christmas. From 1987 to 1988, Polley made her name in the title role of the Canadian television series Ramona. Her work on the show led to more screen work, first in the Matt Dillon flop The Big Town (1987) and then in Terry Gilliam’s The Adventures of Baron Munchausen (1989).

In 1990, Polley got a lead role on the acclaimed TV series The Road to Avonlea, a part that she played for five seasons. In 1994, she had a small but significant role in Atom Egoyan’s Exotica and again collaborated with the director in 1997, for his critically lauded The Sweet Hereafter. The film was nominated for a host of awards, including a Best Director Oscar… read more

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ramosbarajas

10May12

The story itself is moving. But the story arc is not as developed as it could be. The characters develop along fine, but the story line is rather underwhelming. The events could have been explored more deeply, or at least edited differently. The performances from the whole cast were spot-on. It was a great ensemble. They hit many perfect notes.

  • Picture of ramosbarajas

    ramosbarajas

    10May12

    Also, the fades from scene to scene detracted from the effect. And was it just me or were many of the scenes overexposed? Probably the snow outside.

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Mikhael Tarigan

12Aug11

what really great is the fact that Polley made this compelling drama with such great acting in such a young age.

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SALESK

6Jun11

Pinsent will dismantle you piece by piece. Very good, very sad.

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rorydean

29Nov10

When I found out Polley was directing this film I immediately added it to my must watch list. I've followed her career for some time in front of the camera (she was amazing in The Sweet Hereafter - Atom Egoyian's finest, perhaps) and found her directorial debut a solid film, though scarce, a minimalist character film about a troubling subject matter that doesn't always set well with the masses.

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W184

Julie Christie @ 70

By David Hudson on April 14, 2011

To Christina Tilmann's best wishes in Der Tagesspiegel, we'll add ours.From Stephanie Zacharek's appreciation in Salon in 2001: "If every

read article

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Polley's Away From Here Movie Review

By rorydea​n on November 29, 2010

There’s not much I can add here that hasn’t already been covered by other critics and Mubi neighbors other than to say some films are like novels, required reading when it comes to ‘things of the heart’…  read review

Untitled

By jaredmo​barak on June 9, 2009

Canadian actress Sarah Polley has crafted a tale about love in the midst of great adversity by adapting a short story into her new film Away From Her. I have been a fan of hers, acting-wise, for a…  read review

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