Away from Her

I think “Fiona” (Julie Christie) knows the writing is on the wall when she goes to top up some glasses for her dinner guests and she can’t recall what’s in the bottle. Husband “Grant” (Gordon Pinsent) is dreading what has to come next as they both realise she needs professional care rather than stay in their beautiful but impractical wintery home. One of the more onerous conditions of her residency is that for the first month she can’t receive visitors and though she is a bit more stoic about that, he is struggling after 45 years of marriage to come to terms with that. Muddle through he does, though, and eagerly anticipates the day when he can see her again. His arrival at the home doesn’t quite go to plan as he discovers she is playing bridge with a new friend “Aubrey” (Michael Murphy). She is friendly enough but what’s clear is that she can no longer quite place him in her life. What now ensues sees him sensitively try to reintroduce himself whilst she obliviously continues with her new friend and new life, gradually deteriorating. Meantime, he meets “Marian” (Olympia Dukakis) who is married to “Aubrey” and in similar situation, largely unrecognised by the man she has loved for many years. Without compromising their other affections, the two start to find solace in each other’s company and start to realise that they have lives to live too - but always in a shadow. Christie delivers poignantly here but it’s actually Pinsent who has the hardest task as his character gradually loses all the points of reference from his adult life: his best friend, his lover - and yet she is still there, pleasant and polite, in front of his eyes. Dukakis is a fine character actor and she, too, imbues her character with a sense of sadness and reservedness as the inevitable begins to take firmer shape. The writing takes us into the heart of something ghastly but avoids sentimentalising the story. It introduces a little of the vagaries of the science - an imprecise and fluid collection of theories, and makes it’s point with just an hint of optimism for those left to constantly and repetitively pick up the pieces as the days get no better. Despite the doctor extolling the virtues of communal care and living, I still looked at the facility and wondered if these places don’t actually do more stifling than providing, and that’s a testament to an ensemble effort from some chirpy residents and from a direction that treats us as observers for whom this could easily resonate one day. It’s a tough watch but worthwhile, I’d say.