Review: Away From Her

There's a recurring line early in this film, in which Julie Christie's Fiona asks her husband Grant, played by Gordon Pinsent, how long ago a certain event occurred, expecting the answer to be a year or two. When Grant patiently reminds her that it actually happened over twenty years earlier, she gives him a look that's equal measures of disappointment and resignation, and says, "That is shocking." Equally shocking, to me, is the fact that twenty-something Sarah Polley, who we watched grow up in Atom Egoyan gems like Exotica and The Sweet Hereafter, is able to both write and direct a story so intensely real about love and separation between two characters in their twilight years.

In all the ways that you'd expect, Away From Her is sometimes a hard story to watch. It's achingly sad at times, but the subject matter requires it: there's no fun way to watch someone lose their memory and fall further and further away from the people they loved... and who still love them. Pinsent and Christie are both up to the task, as they deliver some great laughs while still retaining every ounce of grace that you'd expect from actors of their calibre. Both are blessed with the sorts of faces that you could lose yourself in, and that's an important asset to a film with as many long, quiet shots as this one has under Polley's exquisite hand. The action that heartbroken Grant takes in the final act of Away From Her would seem completely improbable and "written"... unless you'd just watched all of the events that lead up to it, in which case any other outcome would be inconceivable.

There are lots of unexpected surprises to be found, like the institutionalized Winnipeg Jets play-by-play man, who can't help but provide commentary to everything going on around him. When Grant turns down the television's volume during a Leafs game at the home, such that everyone can more clearly hear their companion's monologue rather than what the CBC had to offer, you can't help but cheer along with the rest of them. And anyone who's ever had someone they loved go into a hospital for an extended stay can relate to the character of Nurse Kristy, who forms a bond with Grant that's above and beyond the call of duty, and yet oh-so-typical of what you can find among Canada's nursing profession.

The other aspect of this story that I really loved was just how complicated it made everyone in it seem. We tend to think, especially when considering "old people," that everyone else has lived these storybook lives where everything went according to script and now that they're old they're simply ready to die. Here you see many of the imperfections of their earlier deeds, just as grown up children often do with their own parents, aunts and uncles. Affairs happened, and were forgiven... or simply moved beyond. We're reminded that everyone old was once young, and acted every bit the same way young people have always behaved.

I think you should watch Away From Her, whatever age you might be today. As one of the characters says in the film, you may think that you know where your life is going to end up, but you never really do. And remembering that, while you're still young enough to get some value out of that bit of wisdom, could make all the difference.

Rating: ****