Away From Her (2006)

Sometimes you have to let go of what you can't live without.

"Away From Her" is the writing and directorial feature film debut of the multi-talented Canadian actress (writer, director, singer) Sarah Polley, so good in Doug Liman's ensemble black comedy "Go" (1999) and Vincenzo Natali's recent SF fantasy horror "Splice" (2009).

This film is a remarkably accomplished first feature, with a suspenseful story and beautifully judged performances by the main actors. It tells the story of how a retired university professor (Gordon Pinsent) and his wife (Julie Christie) cope with Christie's incipient Alzheimer's disease. As Christie's character, clearly possessing a strong legacy of physical fitness, presence of mind and social adroitness, starts to lose her mental faculties, so far as to endanger her own safety, the couple is faced with unpleasant choices.

The plot develops in directions that are unexpected but that significantly advance the story, severely testing the strength of Christie's husband's love. The plot is cleverly structured, interleaving events separated in time to build to a satisfying if not long-lasting end. Although the subject matter sounds depressing, ultimately, the film leaves the viewer not depressed but moved.

Christie is fantastic in the lead role, conveying from the outset, through body language and vocal delivery, a person of exceptional grace and sensibility, without which husband Pinsent's actions would be without credibility. Pinsent, Dukakis and the other members of the cast are very good in supporting roles.

Produced by Atom Egoyan, who directed Polley in "The Sweet Hereafter" (1997), for me this is a more accessible, more satisfying experience, and I look forward to more by film-maker Sarah Polley.

• Rating: Full price
• When seen: 20 Mar 2011
• Where seen: Home
• More information: IMDB | RottenTomatoes | Wikipedia

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Amendments: Removed link to Wikipedia-sourced image. Added ranking image.

The Sweet Hereafter (1997)

Sometimes courage comes from the most surprising places.

There is a tragedy at the centre of this film involving the children of a town in British Columbia, Canada, teased out little by little until the final reveal. We learn of it first through a clever plot device in which Mitchell Stephens (Ian Holmes), a lawyer, canvasses support among the parents for a group lawsuit. As Stephens tours the town, we too are taken inside people's homes, and more importantly inside the town's rumour mill. Through Stephens's eyes and ears, we gain insight into the dark and dirty secrets of the townspeople's lives.

Holmes' divorced lawyer is himself in a troubled relationship with his grownup daughter, a long-time drug addict. Present-day scenes of their painful talks by phone contrast with idyllic scenes from the past, but also one incident where he literally held his daughter's innocent young life in his hands.

Another access point to the story is young Nicole Burnell's (Sarah Polley) narration of the traditional tale of The Pied Piper of Hamlyn, expressed in the form of a poem. This poem, very poignantly, stands as a metaphor for what has happened to the town and the town's children, including Nicole, especially Nicole. Almost subliminally, at first, the poem extends the story and mutates it in unexpected directions, to more closely mirror the aftermath of the town's tragedy.

A key reason for choosing to see this film was that the title came up when I did a search on Sarah Polley, the wonderfully bloody-minded star of Go (1999). She was good, but for me the standout performance here is that of Holmes.

Another reason for choosing to see this film is that it was well spoken of by Adam Kempenaar and Matty Robinson on Filmspotting.net, but having seen it now, I can't quite decide what to make of it. It is a serious film for an intelligent, adult audience, well acted, well shot, and with several very poignant and/or disturbing story-lines running through it. But what the film is about, what the underlying message is, what all the parts add up to, I'm not quite sure, and so, I'm a bit disappointed. (Surely the film's take-home message can't be: "Spare your children from the miseries of adult life. If you have the chance, kill them now!")

The reason for my confusion could be down to the fractured narrative structure of the film. Alternatively, it might be a problem of perception, i.e. my fault. Rather than seeing the film straight through, due to force of circumstance, I saw it in two sittings, and this might have diluted the impact. But, until I see it again and maybe gain greater insight, I can't give it more than a high matinee.

Hmn, now reading on IMDB.com/title/tt0120255/ I find that Matthew Tichenor HAS made sense of the film: "The community is paralyzed by its anger and cannot let go. All but one young girl... who finds the courage to lead the way to the sweet hereafter."

• Rating: High matinee
• When seen: 7 Mar 2011
• Where seen: Home
• More information: IMDB | RottenTomatoes | Wikipedia

Posted using Blogo from my MacBook Pro

Amendments: Removed link to Wikipedia-sourced image. Added ranking image.