Away From Her, He Said

To tell a story you need to have compelling characters in a situation that somehow changes them or the world around them. If you were going to write a screenplay, you could do no better than to start with a short story written by Alice Munro, the acknowledged current champ in that category. Sarah Polley turned to Munro's "The Bear Came Over the Mountain".

This tender and wonderful tale is about a couple facing Fiona's, Grant's wife played by Julie Christie, decent into the hell of dementia. She is more aware and more rational about her condition than her husband, played by Gordon Pinsent. Fiona decides she must admit herself into a rest home that deals with dementia patients. (All patients with dementia do not necessarily have Alziemer's, but the treatment is essentially the same)

The closer the day when Fiona is going to leave, the more apprehension begins to build in Grant's mind. It accelerates quickly on the drive to the rest home. During the trip, Fiona reminds him that some memories she has are good and some she wishes she could get rid of. The memory she wants to forget is of an affair he had with one of his students. On the other hand, she is oddly happy about the fact that he did decide to stay with her. He has validated their relationship by resisting temptation to leave her for a younger woman.

After a required period of no contact for thirty days imposed by the rest home, Grant visits Fiona only to find that already she is confused about who he is. Not only is that fact difficult to process, but Fiona has taken responsibility for a fellow male patient Aubrey who has not only become dependent on her , but somewhat possessive.

Grant has befriended the head nurse who coaches him through his understanding of what is going on. But what the head nurse can not do is get rid of the nagging feeling that he has to compete for the affection and loyalty for his wife. It's only when Aubrey is taken out of the home by his wife and Fiona in her grief begins to slid further down the slippery slope that dementia can be, that Grant realizes that the price he might have to pay for any meaningful contact that he might have with his wife.

In short, even though Julie Christe is stunning, this film is not so much about the character that she plays, but the husband Grant. Grant begins with denial and ends up with a more complete understanding of Fiona's experience. Once again his decision is to stay with her or to leave.

(For more information on this condition see www.alz.org )