Directed by Sarah Polley
Fiona and Grant have been married for nearly 50 years. They have to face the fact that Fiona’s absent-mindedness is a symptom of Alzheimer’s disease. She must go to a specialized nursing home, where she slowly forgets Grant and turns her affection to Aubrey, another patient in the home.
Loin d'elle, 어웨이 프롬 허, An Ihrer Seite, Ondan Uzakta, Lejos de ella, Longe Dela, Away from Her - Lontano da lei, Вдали от неё, Daleko od ní, הרחק ממנה, 柳暗花明, Далеч от нея, Egyre távolabb, Υστερόγραφο μιας Σχέσης, Далеко від неї, アウェイ・フロム・ハー 君を想う, შორს მისგან, Daleko od niej, Lluny d’ella, Departe de ea
Canada14A Toronto International Film Festival 
USA Sundance Film Festival 
Brazil São Paulo International Film Festival CanadaPG USAPG-13 
Norway15 USAPG-13 
Germany0 
PortugalM/12 
Italy Brazil12 
South Korea12 
Ireland12 
Switzerland0 Germany0 Brazil Brazil Canada Germany Ireland Italy Norway Portugal South Korea Switzerland USA 
I had a really good joke to use for this review, but I forgot it
This is a 2000s indie drama that managed to propel a stellar Julie Christie to a Golden Globe Award, a Critics Choice Award and a SAG Award for Best Actress. This type of acclaim and collection of accolades is rare for such an indie, but Christie being the name she is and delivering a performance that is so subtly stellar makes you realize that it all makes sense. However, when someone receives these awards in particular they usually take home the Oscar for Best Actress but Christie failed to do so, losing to Marion Cotillard’s performance in La Vie en Rose. While Christie delivers what is possibly her finest performance to date, Cotillard’s transcendent portrayal of world-famous singer Édith Piaf…
It seems to be an incredibly rare thing, to deliver a cinematic love story that actually feels authentic and genuine. Over the course of each year, week after week, films are released that are supposed to convey the emotional power of love starring two gorgeous individuals between the ages of 18 - 35. In these 94 minute shit storms, we see these quirky characters deliver a clunky, predictable script with various pop songs playing as they at some point during the narrative break up, only to find each other again at the end, probably in Times Square at night when it's snowing. If these films demonstrate true expectations for romance, it's no wonder why every god damn couple gets divorced.…
Sarah Polley’s debut isn’t interested in the things movies usually concern themselves with. There’s no grand sociological statement, there’s no interpersonal drama to work through, and there’s no catharsis. There couldn’t be. Instead, it simply observes a tragic situation, acknowledging by default how irreparable it is and grappling with that fact on a human level. What can you do when there’s nothing to be done? Compassion is the key. After walking a mile in her protagonists’ shoes, Polley finds beauty in the fact that things continue, less “life goes on” than “life never stops.” If we choose otherwise, a Bad chapter never cancels out the possibility of more Good. With each new film, that seems to be her philosophical constant.
This review may contain spoilers. I can handle the truth.
Sarah Polley: Super Bowl XLII MVP
This is a story about how Sarah Polley made me a better person while helping the New York Giants defeat the 18-0 New England Patriots on February 3, 2008 in Glendale, Arizona at Super Bowl XLII.
To begin, due to failing health, mainly Parkinson’s disease, my grandfather (whose name was Mickey and everyone, including myself called "The Mick") is forced to move into a nursing home in January 2007. My aunt and I move him in, I clean out his old apartment, get all his affairs in order: closing bank accounts, making sure Medicaid was covering certain expenses. It was the first time I truly felt like an adult doing adult shit.
I was…
Fuck.
This was really, really good. Showcases how life is both permanent, and impermanent. What power we still have over our lives, even when we are at the whim of a changing world.
Julie Christy is amazing, but holy hell Gordon Pinsent should have equal praise because experiencing this journey through his eyes is just heartbreaking and revelatory.
The greatest strength of Away From Her is the two incredible lead performances by Gordon Pinsent and Julie Christie. Not sure if this movie would have worked without a brilliant showcasing of talent.
Sarah Polley’s film hits hard with a constant stream of emotion, with the devastation of Alzheimer’s disease but taken from the perspective of a husband who has to watch his wife slip away in a nursing home. They have shared a lifetime’s worth of experiences. He can’t imagine a world without her, and that’s why the final challenge of this movie is an important one, because it reveals itself as to not only what this movie is really about but also how to be a decent human being.
"I think people are too demanding. People want to be in love every single day. What a liability."
We are all Fionas not knowing who Gordon Pinsent is. We are all criminals overlooking his criminally underrated performance.
My father-in-law—a Pulitzer Prize and MacArthur Fellowship winner—is not only the smartest man in every room but he's also the kindest and gentlest. His daughter is his only child. Which makes our newborn daughter his only grandchild. His first visit to see his only grandchild, tomorrow, will be done after also looking at memory care facilities for his wife. The circle of life.
For the long time readers, over a few entries I've detailed how difficult Kathleen's mother is (a mix of borderline personality disorder and dementia). Well, Jack has only been remarried for ten years, but losing his wife to Alzheimer's has been one of the hardest things for us to watch. They've tried making it work at home…
It’s the offseason so I assumed I wouldn’t have to think about the Leafs losing in the playoffs for at least another 10 months or so, and yet I settle in for this sad yet graceful drama about a man watching his wife deteriorate and disappear right before his eyes and there’s Ed Belfour letting in the series ending over time goal in 2004! (The recurring former Winnipeg Jets broadcast announcer bit is honestly a good one.) Anyway, outside of that I think I felt the tearjerker gears grinding a little too hard and didn’t love the generic glowing natural light look, but lots of wonderful mid-2000s snowy rural Ontario texture I’m all too familiar with and Christie and Pinsent are incredible; so much pain and history and longing affection in every stare at each other.
[35mm]
#9 of 12 films in my Adapted Screenplay Challenge
Marital relationships are rarely easy or straightforward. In the 1999 short story entitled "The Bear Came Over the Mountain" by Canadian Nobel Laureate Alice Munro, we get to know Professor Grant Anderson from the inside, sharing his thoughts about his wife Fiona. It's a history stretching over some 50 years, from the first time he met her as a bright young student to the day he committed her to Meadowlake, a home for the elderly suffering from various degrees of dementia.
During her convalescence, Fiona strikes up a friendship with a wheelchair-bound resident named Aubrey Barque. The two become close, maybe too close, but as Grant recalls his earlier affairs and…
"It's curious. All of them madly in love business, The beginning. I hear myself tell the story and it all sounds so... crucial. I suppose it is. But compared to what we ended up with untill recently ... All of that seems so superficial"
Heartbreking...
Loved both lead performances. I just wanted to hug the man and cry for half of the movie.
The scrypt is very well-written too
And I loooooove the poster btw
