Away From Her Review
By David Kempler
No one would ever want to get away from her
People get older and along the way some suffer physical ailments that eventually debilitate and kill them. Others fade away in the haze of Alzheimer's Disease. Neither is pleasant to think about but "Away From Her" makes us think of what may eventually be our fate, in this case, premature aging of our faculties.
Fiona (Julie Christie) and Grant (Gordon Pinsent) are a great looking, extremely intellectual, well to do retired couple who live in a virtual Garden of Eden, Canadian style. The bucolic setting is a gorgeous chalet with seemingly untracked soft snow in every direction. Everything is absolutely perfect. Obviously this cannot be true or we wouldn't have a movie to watch.
The chink in the armor is Fiona appears to be forgetting which drawer the silverware is, among other things. Amazingly, she seems not the least bit bothered by the knowledge that she is slowly disappearing, as she puts it. Grant is quite a bit more concerned about this degeneration of thinking abilities.
The couple does some investigating in books and with the help of a doctor it is decided that early onset of Alzheimer's is the culprit. Fiona decides that she should be put in a home and is so matter of fact about it that it is as if a Stepford Wife was putting herself out to pasture. Despite the mild protests of Grant it is off to the Meadowlake facility. The peace of home life is replaced by the new peace of institutional life and Fiona couldn't be happier.
The rest of "Away With Her" is all about Grant having problems with the situation and Fiona, for the most part, being just fine with it. It all moves at a snail's pace with Director Sarah Polley trying to substitute slow pacing for heavy drama. It's possible to hang in there with Polley's slow moving story for only so long. Eventually it grinds to almost a complete standstill.
Despite its failings, "Away From Her" is beautiful to look at and nothing is lovelier than the eternally exquisite Julie Christie. Her sexiness is not even slowed by her age or the ravages of Alzheimer's. Unfortunately, her beauty is almost a distraction from what is supposed to be a tragic story. I very much understand why no man would ever want to be away from her.
