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Film Gracefully Tells Story of Husband Whose Wife Faces Alzheimer's

Orlando Weekly | March 26, 2007

Among the many entrants in this year’s festival that deal with mental illness, Away From Her is the most richly emotional, due, perhaps, to its source material. Based on the Alice Munro short story “The Bear Came Over the Mountain,” Away From Her is about a smart, middle-aged Canadian couple dealing with the inevitable drift that occurs when a longtime partner loses touch with the reality of the past. Julie Christie plays Fiona, whose Alzheimer’s necessitates her admission into a senior-citizens facility. Her attentive, loving and somewhat penitent husband struggles mightily with the separation and with Fiona's eventual mental dissociation with him. That struggle, and his eventual, heroic coming to terms with the situation is as romantic as it is heartbreaking, and the delicate and dignified way that director Sarah Polley treats Munro’s story is worthy of high praise.

Tags: Away from Her, Sarah Polley

Orlando Weekly

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