Away from Her
The Oscars showed us what an exciting year it was for visually stunning and technically virtuosic films. No Country for Old Men, Michael Clayton, There Will Be Blood, Sweeny Todd, and Ratatouille all had impressive visual panache. With all of this stylish filmmaking, one can easily overlook quieter and more discreet films, ones that conceal their artistry so that it registers subconsciously. Sarah Polley’s debut Away from Her qualifies as one of those movies. This heartfelt story follows a retired professor (Grant Anderson) who becomes conflicted when his Alzheimer’s-stricken wife (Julie Christie) falls in love with another man at her nursing home.
Despite this horrifying predicament, Polley tactfully avoids melodrama. This film never overbears the viewer with dramatic confrontations and lugubriousness. It follows two characters who handle personal crises with grace and dignity. At a time when even the best Hollywood filmmakers (the Coen brothers, Paul Thomas Anderson, Tim Burton) have become obsessed with the depths which humanity can sink to, it is refreshing to see a film about characters rising, honorably and realistically, to tolerate a nearly intolerable situation. Not to mention that Anderson and Christie invigorate with performances that are, respectively, touching, refined, and honest.
