Away From Her 
Director: Sarah Polley. Screenplay: Sarah Polley, from Alice Munro’s short story “The Bear Came Over the Mountain.” Cinematography: Luc Montpellier. Film editing: David Wharnsby. Production design: Kathleen Climie. Art direction: Benno Tutter. Music: Jonathan Goldsmith. Producers: Daniel Iron, Simone Urdl, Jennifer Weiss. With: Julie Christie, Michael Murphy, Gordon Pinsent, Olympia Dukakis, Kristen Thomson, Wendy Crewson, Alberta Watson, Thomas Hauff, Katie Boland. Canada. 110 min. 2006.
Fiona has Alzheimer’s disease, and she agrees with Grant, her devoted husband, that a long-term care facility is now the proper place for her to live. The couple has never been apart for very long during their forty-years-plus marriage, though, and the nursing home bars all visitors for the first month of residence so patients can settle in to their new surroundings. Coming to see Fiona after the waiting period is over, Grant finds that she’s developed a close relationship with a speechless man in a wheelchair, and he can’t help feeling jealous and possessive. The movie is narratively and emotionally slight, despite its highly charged subject, but Polley shows considerable skill and imagination in her feature-directing debut, transferring Munro’s delicate story into compelling visual terms. And the great Christie is excellent as Fiona, reminding us yet again that she’s a very fine actress as well as a charismatic screen icon. -- David Sterritt
Director: Sarah Polley. Screenplay: Sarah Polley, from Alice Munro’s short story “The Bear Came Over the Mountain.” Cinematography: Luc Montpellier. Film editing: David Wharnsby. Production design: Kathleen Climie. Art direction: Benno Tutter. Music: Jonathan Goldsmith. Producers: Daniel Iron, Simone Urdl, Jennifer Weiss. With: Julie Christie, Michael Murphy, Gordon Pinsent, Olympia Dukakis, Kristen Thomson, Wendy Crewson, Alberta Watson, Thomas Hauff, Katie Boland. Canada. 110 min. 2006.
Fiona has Alzheimer’s disease, and she agrees with Grant, her devoted husband, that a long-term care facility is now the proper place for her to live. The couple has never been apart for very long during their forty-years-plus marriage, though, and the nursing home bars all visitors for the first month of residence so patients can settle in to their new surroundings. Coming to see Fiona after the waiting period is over, Grant finds that she’s developed a close relationship with a speechless man in a wheelchair, and he can’t help feeling jealous and possessive. The movie is narratively and emotionally slight, despite its highly charged subject, but Polley shows considerable skill and imagination in her feature-directing debut, transferring Munro’s delicate story into compelling visual terms. And the great Christie is excellent as Fiona, reminding us yet again that she’s a very fine actress as well as a charismatic screen icon. -- David Sterritt
