So last night I sat down to watch Sarah Polley's directorial debut "Away From Her" (on DVD, missed it in theaters) featuring a very buzzed about performance from Julie Christie. The story focuses on Fiona (Christie) and Grant (Gordon Pinsent in an overrated but very good performance) as well as their connection to Mary (Olympia Dukakis; uneven) as Fiona succumbs to Alzheimer's. For the first hour and 15 minutes or so, the film is absorbing, thanks to fantastic shots of the snowy wilderness, as well as the home where Fiona goes to stay. Sarah Polley's camera work is fantastic, particularly in an overhead shot of Christie as she lies down in the snow under leafless trees. The cinematography helps lend a quiet beauty to these scenes, not just with the snow, but also the special Alzheimer's treatment home, where gently blurred white light streams through the windows. Coupled with several slow motion "walking away" scenes, the effect of the light is magical. Where the film goes wrong though, is by entering the realm of "too much of a good thing." Eventually the "slow motion walking away scenes" lose their magic and the film as a whole is too long by about 20 minutes. Ms. Christie's performance is excellent, and that helps the film redeem itself quite a lot, but when Grant starts heavily interacting with Mary (whose husband has Alzheimer's and has found a very close friendship with Fiona) things crumble a bit. Earlier, it is revealed that Grant probably cheated on Fiona once or twice with some of his female students, but that he never left her or stopped loving her. However, when Grant and Mary feel the need to have sex (to comfort each other?) it makes it hard to really feel sorry for Pinsent's character, because it seems like he hasn't truly changed despite his supposed sadness over his separation from Fiona. Once again, the Breakdown.
1. Acting: great performance from Christie, and really makes you feel the struggle/awkwardness of someone with Alzheimer's. Pinsent is good, but the writing undermines his character. Dukakis has some moments of odd line delivery, and a young actress playing a nurse at the home gets nothing to do but reiterate the stages of Alzheimer's (FUN!).
2. Production values: cinematography is the standout. Nothing else matters.
3. Music: delicate and beautiful use of guitar twangs and quiet piano music. It works magically with the scenes, but it's not strong enough to merit any sort of nomination.
4. Direction: marvelous.
5. Writing: uneven, for the reasons stated above.
and ze verdict is
Grade: B+
Current nominations: Best Director - Sarah Polley (#4) ,Best Actress - Julie Christie (#3).
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