Sad movie about a woman (Julie Christie, amazing and still gorgeous) with early signs of Alzheimer's. As her condition worsens, she and her husband make arrangements for her at an extended-care facility. Tough on both of them, it is particularly hard for him, especially as the facility does not allow visitors for the first 30 days to help the patient make a better adjustment. It becomes even worse when once he is allowed to visit her, she not only seems to have forgotten who he is, but has transferred all her affections to another patient.
This movie is so good. The actors, especially Ms. Christie, are excellent. Even more remarkable is that this is the first directing feature by Sarah Polley, who at the time was under 30 years old. She also wrote the script, an adaptation of a short story, "The Bear Came Over the Mountain," by Alice Munro. Ms. Polley is an actor who has appeared in the 2004 remake of
Dawn of the Dead, the TV mini-series "John Adams" and other movies such as
Go, My Life Without Me and
The Sweet Hereafter. It is a real tribute to her talent that someone so young could direct such a sensitive movie about older people with such a highly regarded cast. She is a director to keep an eye out for.
DIRECTOR: Sarah Polley. CAST: Julie Christie, Gordon Pinsent, Olympia Dukakis, Wendy Crewson, Michael Murphy, Kristen Thomas, Alberta Watson.
AWARDS: Nominated for 2 Oscars. Another 39 wins & 16 nominations.
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