Away From Her

Starring: Julie Christie, Gordon Pinsent, Olympia Dukakis
Directed by: Sarah Polley
Rating: PG-13
Genre: Drama, Romance
2007

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: After being married for 50 years, a husband (Gordon Pinsent) begins struggling in his relationship with his wife (Julie Christie) as she slowly descends into Alzheimer's.

Review:

Tim: This is a tender, quiet movie about the bonds of love and how they are tested when memory begins to fade because of Alzheimer's. The movie starts out well, and is helped out by two incredible performances. However, the movie begins to lose a bit of focus as it progresses. It slows down, and what was once fascinating soon becomes boring. Luckily, the film comes together at the end in surprisingly good fashion.

This movie is really about the two performances of its leads. First, Julie Christie gives a nuanced, impressive performance. She has received loads of accolades for her performance. While she's good, I think it might be slightly overrated as well. I enjoyed her in the movie, but I don't believe she's given us anything we haven't seen before. On the other hand, Gordon Pinsent has received must less praise for his role, which I believed was superior to Christie's. He has such a difficult role, having to go through a wide range of emotions in a short time. He pulls this off beautifully. We truly like him, even when we might be frustrated with what his character is doing. For me, Pinsent was the most remarkable and memorable part of the film, and I lament that he has not received more nominations and awards for his work.

Away From Her is the kind of Oscar bait that critics love to jump on and praise. This is a good movie, well directed by Sarah Polley, but it is not the life-changing film that some would have you believe. It tells a good story, which is fairly powerful. It is a good movie, not quite a great movie, but one that certainly deserves your time.



Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating- 7



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: The Notebook, Finding Neverland