Away from Her (2006) YTS - Download Yify Movie

Reviewed by CinemaSerf 7 / 10

I think “Fiona” (Julie Christie) knows the writing

I think “Fiona” (Julie Christie) knows the writing is on the wall when she goes to top up some glasses for her dinner guests and she can’t recall what’s in the bottle. Husband “Grant” (Gordon Pinsent) is dreading what has to come next as they both realise she needs professional care rather than stay in their beautiful but impractical wintery home. One of the more onerous conditions of her residency is that for the first month she can’t receive visitors and though she is a bit more stoic about that, he is struggling after 45 years of marriage to come to terms with that. Muddle through he does, though, and eagerly anticipates the day when he can see her again. His arrival at the home doesn’t quite go to plan as he discovers she is playing bridge with a new friend “Aubrey” (Michael Murphy). She is friendly enough but what’s clear is that she can no longer quite place him in her life. What now ensues sees him sensitively try to reintroduce himself whilst she obliviously continues with her new friend and new life, gradually deteriorating. Meantime, he meets “Marian” (Olympia Dukakis) who is married to “Aubrey” and in similar situation, largely unrecognised by the man she has loved for many years. Without compromising their other affections, the two start to find solace in each other’s company and start to realise that they have lives to live too - but always in a shadow. Christie delivers poignantly here but it’s actually Pinsent who has the hardest task as his character gradually loses all the points of reference from his adult life: his best friend, his lover - and yet she is still there, pleasant and polite, in front of his eyes. Dukakis is a fine character actor and she, too, imbues her character with a sense of sadness and reservedness as the inevitable begins to take firmer shape. The writing takes us into the heart of something ghastly but avoids sentimentalising the story. It introduces a little of the vagaries of the science - an imprecise and fluid collection of theories, and makes it’s point with just an hint of optimism for those left to constantly and repetitively pick up the pieces as the days get no better. Despite the doctor extolling the virtues of communal care and living, I still looked at the facility and wondered if these places don’t actually do more stifling than providing, and that’s a testament to an ensemble effort from some chirpy residents and from a direction that treats us as observers for whom this could easily resonate one day. It’s a tough watch but worthwhile, I’d say.

Reviewed by

Reviewed by wisewebwoman 8 / 10

Brilliant directorial debut!

Sarah Polley, still well under thirty, has taken one of my favourite Alice Monroe's stories and created magic with the script, casting and production of a remarkable and memorable film.

The effect is profound. You are watching actors at the peak of their craft, Julie Christie (playing Fiona Anderson), Gordon Pinsent (Grant Anderson) and Olympia Dukakis (Marian) and there is never a false move.

But beware, this is a movie for grown-ups and is reminiscent in some ways of "The Dead". Do we ever really know someone even though we have lived and breathed their air for over forty years? The tragedy and sometimes humour of Alzheimer's Disease is portrayed beautifully. The occasional lucid moments offering hope, only to be followed, often quickly, by the bafflement of the dementia.

But to focus solely on the still breathtakingly beautiful Julie and her brilliance in depicting a woman in the throes of the disease is to diminish the film as it is not only about that. It is about the secrets of the marriage, the incarceration of a loved one in a home, the despair and sometimes desperation of the spouse left operating in the outside 'real' world, the sometimes outrageous bondings of the inhabitants of the group home and the compromises reached by all.

There is much symbolism in the movie (the snow was particularly meaningful) and many wonderful, almost unnoticeable 'sidebits' - Olympia trying to pass off a store bought cookie as home-made for one - that bring this movie to wonderful heights. The attention to detail is amazing. I've visited these homes and this was real, down to the eccentric and often comically expletive-laden talk from the elderly inhabitants. Polley shows remarkable restraint in just allowing one of these eccentricities to run through the film when it might have been tempting to lay it on a little more thickly.

Though never sentimental and often humorous, the world through Grant's eyes is vividly portrayed and his anguish is palpable as he witnesses both the disintegration and re-invention of his beloved Fiona.

A heart-breaking, powerful and moving story brought beautifully to the screen. Bravo to all concerned. Oscar worthy.

Away from Her

2006

Action / Drama

Away from Her

2006

Action / Drama

Please enable your VPΝ when downloading torrents

Plot summary

Director

Top cast

Tech specs

Movie Reviews

I think “Fiona” (Julie Christie) knows the writing

Brilliant directorial debut!

1 Comment