Away From Her - B+

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In theaters. Rated PG-13, 110 minutes.

Alzheimers and middle aged love are unexpected topics for 30 year old first time writer/director Sarah Polley (an actress in The Sweet Hereafter (A) and Go(B+)). The film is produced by Atom Egoyan, Polley's director in The Sweet Hereafter, and his influence can be seen in both the emotional depth and tone of the film.

The film follows Fiona (Julie Christie) and Grant (Gordon Pinsent), a middle aged couple living an idyllic Canadian life on the shores of Lake Ontario as they deal with Fiona's descent into Alzheimers. Slowly she and Grant realize that she will have to be taken to a home for Alzheimers patients, and the process of diagnosis and discussions with the home are handled with levity and grace. Once in the home, the staff policy is that Grant cannot visit her for 30 days to allow her to adjust. Grant returns after the exile only to find Fiona does not remember their relationship, and has instead begun falling in love with another patient, Aubrey. At first Grant is jealous, but ultimately he accepts that it is the one thing keeping her from a rapid descent.

There are several interesting themes explored, loss, love, regret, infidelity, commitment, and healthcare. Without having experienced Alzheimers first hand, I feel incapable of assessing the film's handling of the self-doubt and pain that the family of an Alzheimers patient feels, but it seems to be done very well. I think if I had had such experiences the film would've been that much more resonant. Overall, this is a very impressive from the talented Polley, who has been doggedly selective in her movie roles and reluctance to be part of the Hollywood system. She even turned down the Julia Stiles role in the Bourne films.

Favorite scene: Other than the touching emotional scenes, my favorite recurring scene was the intermittent appearance of Frank, a resident of the home whose profession was a play by play announcer, and always 'calls' everything that is happening.