Away from Her

Not only Christie but all the actors are great. And It's like Sarah Polley has been blessed by Bergman. Not perfect but a solid deal.

Feels more like a TV production than a big screen film. Story is depressing, but it really didn't feel authentic to me. Not sure if it's the fault of the book or this adaptation.

Old people, sexy fun!

A few narrative flaws can't overcome the precise direction from Polley and the adequately heartbreaking underacting from Pinsent and Christie.

Away From Her is excellent. It's endearing and personal without being sappy or over-sentimental like a lot of these illness movies are. The two lead actors in this movie are remarkable, and it will be wholly deserving when Christie gets her second Oscar for this movie. The story is told lightly, focusing mostly on the husband and his trouble dealing with his wife's issues, but it's never dramatic or even hard to stomach. It's just a great movie.

You know how heart breaking the last couple of minutes of The Notebook are? This is that, but for an hour and a half. Beautiful and wrenching at the same time. I have no idea how I'd handle the situation that Gordon Pinsent finds himself in, and hopefully I'll never have to find out. My mum works in what is essentially the second floor btw. Can't visit the place, it's not nice...

A movie with a statuesque, uncompromising sadness at its heart. I haven't seen many films with this level of pure emotion.

Wow, this is quite the debut film from writer/director Sarah Polley. Not only is she comfortable enough with the medium to avoid schmaltzy, overly-talky moments, but she's got a wonderful feel for how to move the camera. And the editing might be the best thing here, with the interplay of scenes from various times, heightening the absence and loss that come with this disease. Oh, and love the portrait of two people who remain married for the long haul despite the failures in the marriage.

A fine film, but too slow for me. I was very happy when Julie Christie didn't win Best Actress, like everyone was saying she would. That was an example of Hollywood politics, since she wasn't THAT good.

Very well crafted.

not only that it is reeeeally boring cause it is about 1h too long, i just dont see the sense in making a movie for "the big screen" about alzheimer ... tv production okay ...

Emotionally understated and unoriginal in its approach, "Away from Her" still manages to be a compelling and occasionally touching drama about Alzheimer's, mostly due to strong performances by Pinsent, Christie and Dukakis. Despite avoiding dramatic intensity, Polley's feature film directorial and screenwriting debut shows great promise, as her effort demonstrates both sensibility and restraint, as well as a budding visual talent.

What a beautiful film! The story totally hit home and had me close to tears for the most part of the movie. I don't personally know anyone with Alzheimer's but something about the film's depiction of it seemed slightly unrealistic. But that's a minor flaw and the brilliant acting of Christie made up for it.

Christie and Pinsent give absolutely amazing performances in this quiet, unassuming film.

A beautiful film with an impeccable balance of humor and sorrow. As all her awards indicate, Christie is excellent, but Pinsent is at least as good.

With an extremely deft and careful hand, Sarah Polley directs a haunting and poignant film about real, true love versus dementia. Profoundly moving, brilliantly acted and beautifully shot, Away From Her is a fantastic film in every way.

A touching movie about memory loss, with wonderful performances from the two leads.

I didn't like it at first, what with the ugly soft-focus and anti-septic lighting, self-consciously writerly dialogue that probably worked better on the page, and the muffled, musty tone and pacing. It loosens up after the first act, though, and eventually won me over. It turns into a charming, compelling, character-rich, and profoundly sad film.

Extraordinary performances from Christie and Pinsent, and honest, restrained direction from first-timer Sarah Polley. The film falters in structure and loses intensity slightly just when it needs it--towards the end--but these are minor quibbles, since the film taken as a whole is honest, cliche-free and very moving.

Isn't that bad. May be I wasn't on the mood to watch this film.

Very effective. Of course we have Julie Christie demonstrating remarkable skill in balancing the decline of Fiona, but don't dismiss Gordon Pinsent either- he's just as superior. The film grows intensely shattering and provides a fantastic showcase for both lead actors. It's a tear-jerker for the romance crowd, but wisely not forced-upon the audience. You simply admire these fantastic performances. Audiences that dug 'The Notebook' will surely find a more honest, heartbreaking romance here.

Gentle weepy that almost got me but for some moments where it went a bit 'information film'.

really reminiscent of atom egoyan's films, which is NOT a compliment. i understand that this is a "style", but it looks sloppy & self-indulgent. this film, in particular, was inexcusably dull, and i think that's because it, like every other canadian film, lacked drama and heart. maybe i'm just not equipped to understand the art of this type of canadian filmmaking, but i think at the core of it, if a film can't make you feel, it's failed as entertainment and as art.

Fantastic story of couple being separated by Alzheimer's. Beautifully acted by Julie Christie and Gordon Pinsent... Highly recommended.

Gordon Pinsent is the one who deserved the Oscar nomination. Not Julie Christie's gagalicious performance that seemed more like someone who was reading off bad poetry than performing. Oh, and Olympia Dukakis was bad too. I just didn't like this.

Heartrending yet heartwarming. I loved this movie! Polleys freshman direction of this short story by Munro is right on the mark!

The best thing I can say about this film is Polley's adaptation of Munro's short story is immaculate. Christie is great, hauntingly heartbreaking in fact, but the actual blood pumping through the picture rests in Pinsent's underrated performance. It takes its time a little too often in some places, veers dangerously on the edge of television melodrama once or twice, but ultimately succeeds as a powerful film.

One heck of a writing/directing debut for Polley. Just about the saddest thing you've ever seen, yet unpredictable. Far too well done to be dismissed as another disease movie

A lovely and devastating journey.

Panfreezer+knowshecheated/inloveeverydayaliability+shewannabanggoodbyelol+1st30daysapartworriedsheforgot(wouldsucklol)+shedoessometimes-hasnewguyfriendthatsjealouslol+wondersifsheacting/punishing+ninadobrev?+howcouldtheyforgetvietnamlol+hebefriendstheguywifelol-havetodecidetobehappy-banglol+doinbad-bringsguyback-butremembershusband-hug+canada

One of the most heart-wrenching films I've seen. Beautifully shot and acted.

88.000

FYI: Getting old and developing Alzheimer's is depressing. Avoid it if possible.

Very emotional movie. About an unthinkably horrible situation (involving memory loss) and trying to make the best of it.

If this movie were any more touching I'd feel like I was masturbating. It's that touching. And I don't mean that I gleaned any sexual gratification from the film, just that it touched me so profoundly, it was like hands came out of the screen and molested me. I cried. I'm not ashamed to admit that.

Away From Her is a film about Alzheimer's, love, and loss. There have been relatively few "mainstream" movies with Alzheimer's as a central theme (only Iris and The Notebook come to mind); Away From Her is not only much better than any film I have seen about Alzheimer's - it is one of the best films on any subject I have seen in the last few years.

Boring at first, enveloping as it goes on. I don't like the conversations about what life is or not, but the acting gave them plausibility.

Using simple, everyday things Polley gracefully breaks your heart time and time again.

Beautifully made, with superb performances from the two leads. Christie is fantastic but Pinsent is the star for me. He plays the role with quiet dignity, only letting his deep sorrow rise to the surface in rare moments.

Christie more or less deserved her acclaim but I found that Gordon Pinsent is the complete knock-out. What a performance.

Away from Her deals with a man having to place his wife into an assisted living facility when her alzheimer's becomes too hard for him to handle. During separation, the wife forgets her husband, and slowly begins falling in love with another resident of the assisted living community. Naturally, the film is a total tearjerker. Julie Christie delivers a powerful performance as the ailing wife. However, Gordon Pinsent is merely adequate as the faithful (but struggling) husband.

A very emotionally authentic film about a very real human tragedy. Superb performances by all of the main characters. Still, it's pretty hard for a movie like this not to drag at points.

"Polley creates a portrait that might be dubbed Scenes From a Marriage's End." - Nick Schager

Painfully well done. A must-see for anyone interested in, well, life. The dialogue is as perfect as it's possible to write, and applicable to far more than just the elderly facing end-of-life crises. This is one of those films that changes you, deeply.

Sarah Polley does a great job in her feature film directing debut. Both the lead actors give outstanding performances. I would have liked for the movie to go on for one more scene.

87.750

Although some of the dialogue is sometimes stagey, the actors deliver it with great skill and delicacy. Away From Her is an authentic adaptation of Munro, capturing her insight and humanity beautifully.

Very touching.

Very upsetting. I haven't felt a film grip my heart with it's icy Canadian hand like this in ages.

An accomplished directorial debut by Sarah Polley, Away From Her is a touching exploration of the effects of Alzheimer's, in which the tender wisdom of Polley's script is beautifully complemented by a wonderful performance from Julie Christie.

Nothing too remarkable. Atom Egoyan's influence on Sarah Polley comes through loud and clear.

Sad dementia movies ain't my bag.

I don't think I'll ever see love better portrayed on screen again. This isn't for everyone, it isn't fun. It's slow and steady and real life. Julie Christie is so beautiful that it was almost distracting and cheers to Sarah Polley, who went from playing Ramona to at 28 making a film where people over 50 aren't devoid of sexuality or mistakes.