DVD Review: AWAY FROM HER / Sarah Polley (2007)
May 17th, 2009 by Scott Marks
Julie Christie and Gordon Pinsent in “Away From Her”
Away From Her (2008)
Written and directed by Sarah Polley
Starring: Gordon Pinsent, Julie Christie, Olympia Dukakis and Kristen Thomson
Running Time: 110 min.
Rating: 
(Editor’s Note: While cleaning out some old reviews I happened upon this one and realized it never ran on EC. It’s a tough film, and far from my genre of choice, but I remember being terribly moved by this picture.)
As soon as Fiona (Julie Christie) placed the freshly washed frying pan in the freezer, the Lifetime Channel alarm went off: Did I detect a big screen blowup of that disease-of-the-week made-for-cable staple, Alzheimer’s?
From the moment they first met in college, Grant (Gordon Pinsent) didn’t want to be away from Fiona. At 18, Icelandic Fiona surprised her Norse Mythology professor by popping the question. Almost half of their 44 years together were spent harmoniously in a rustic Canadian cabin his grandparents left them. Minor memory blips were one thing, forgetting where she lived after a routine ski hike another. There was only one thing Fiona was certain of: Grant could no longer be her primary caregiver.
Everything changes, including the lighting and camerawork, when Grant arrives at Meadowlake. The administrator (Wendy Crewson) is as warm and congenial as any well-programmed automaton. A giant plasma screen plays to no one in particular and oldsters take their teacups for a walk. It’s hell with an overabundance of sunshine.
Does Fiona really need a place like Meadowlake? She was always a bit of a flake; what if she’s pretending? When reminded that she’s going to visit the facility, Fiona plays dumb for a moment before surprising Grant with a “just kidding!”
Most disheartening for Grant is a 30-day acclimation period before new arrivals can receive visitors. The loneliness is only slightly less debilitating than Grant’s constant state of cheery denial. Their reunion is heartbreaking: Not only is Grant a faded memory, but Fiona has replaced him with Aubrey (Michael Murphy), a near catatonic fellow patient.
To say that this functions quite well as a training film for loved ones of Alzheimer’s patients might scare off some readers. It shouldn’t, if for no other reason than Away from Her marks the directorial debut of talented Canadian actress Sarah Polley (The Sweet Hereafter, The Claim, Don’t Come Knocking).
One would automatically assume that a 27-year-old filmmaker would only tackle this material as a form of personal therapy. On a plane back from Iceland, Ms. Polley discovered Alice Munro’s short story, The Bear Came Over the Mountain, in the New Yorker. This flight occurred during the filming of Hal Hartley’s No Such Thing, in which Ms. Polley starred opposite Julie Christie.
Almost by way of appreciation, Ms. Polley handed Ms. Christie the role of her career. Comedy is not something readily associated with the story of a couple coming to terms with the onset of memory loss, but Ms. Christie constantly surprises us with outlandish flashes of humor.
Even more difficult to play is the husband, whose eternal optimism is tested and battered on a near hourly basis. Mr. Pinsent is never out of the moment and his performance is so honest and heartbreaking that Academy voters are bound to forget both him and Ms. Christie come next February.
As Aubrey’s angry wife Marian, Olympia Dukakis more than makes up for In the Land of Women’s unbearable grandma Phyllis. She also adds her own unique piece to the puzzle. When Grant leaves her house after requesting that Aubrey be brought back to Meadowlake to keep Fiona company, she mutters, “What a jerk.” Whether that’s in reference to Grant or Marian remains ambiguous.
At times, Ms. Polley can’t hide her freshman status. With the exception of a lovely dance to Neil Young’s Harvest Moon, her use of music is overbearing. The same can be said for her inclusion of W. H. Auden’s Letters from Iceland. It’s OK to leave a copy conspicuously placed on a coffee table, but the constant voiceovers become oppressive. Judging by some of the camerawork, the vessel in the freezer wasn’t the only misplaced pan. These complaints are minor when compared to her overall handling of the actors and steadicam.
You’ll cry for about 20 of the film’s 110 minutes. You’ll also laugh and be extraordinarily moved by the performances. Alzheimer’s disease may not be the subject de jour for a date-night movie. Catch a Monday late show by yourself.
Tags: alzheimers, Alzheimers Disease, AWAY FROM HER, DVD Review, Gordon Pinsent, julie christie, Movie Review, Sarah Polley, Trailer, VideoDig A Hole: Charlton Heston
April 6th, 2008 by Scott Marks
If Charlton Heston never existed, Hollywood surely would have invented one. At a time when studios were countering the small screen invasion with lavish, “cast of thousands” epics, they needed someone to take the lead. Who else but Chuck Heston had the right combination of chiseled features, booming voice, leading man looks and an unwillingness to turn down a beefy paycheck no matter how ludicrous the role?
Heston is to acting what The Monkees are to rock and roll. Both were prefabricated industry creations that arrived on the scene at a precise moment in time to fill a specific void (and make their backers a lot of money).
The legendary movie star died Saturday night at his home in Beverly Hills with Lydia, his wife of 64 years, at his side. No official cause of death has been named, but the actor revealed in 2002 that he had symptoms consistent with Alzheimer’s disease. He was 84.
Heston, born John Charles Carter in Evanston, Illinois, was the son of Lilla (nee Charlton) and Russell Whitford Carter, a mill operator. His parents divorced when he was ten and soon after his mother married Chester Heston. The new family migrated up the road a piece to Chicago’s well-fixed suburb of Wilmette where Charlton Heston (his new surname) attended New Trier High School.
Heston made his movie debut in a pair of 1940s independent films shot on 16mm by classmate David Bradley, who later became a noted film archivist. While in high school, he played the title role in Peer Gynt (1942). At Northwestern University he starred as Marc Antony in Bradley’s 1949 version of Julius Caesar, in which Chicago’s Museum of Science and Industry had a supporting role as ancient Rome.
Paramount producer Hal B. Wallis spotted Heston in a 1950 television production of Wuthering Heights and offered him a contract. When Lydia reminded him that they had decided to pursue careers in theater and television, he replied, “Well, maybe just for one film to see what it’s like.”
His first appearance for the studio was in William Dieterle’s adept film noir Dark City. Two years later Heston got his big break playing the manager of Cecil B. DeMille’s Greatest Show on Earth. It’s as close to the circus as you ever want to get.
Years before Chuck tackled history books and the Bible, he appeared in a pair of exceedingly entertaining genre pictures. King Vidor literally dragged Heston through a swamp all for the love of sadistic Jennifer Jones in his over-the-top melodrama Ruby Gentry and George Pal plunged him neck-deep in ants (and Eleanor Parker) in the solid adventure pic The Naked Jungle.
In 1953 Heston assumed the roles of two historical figures — Andrew Jackson in Henry Levin’s lethal The President’s Lady and Frank ‘Buffalo Bill’ Cody in Jerry Hopper’s leaden Pony Express — a move that heralded a career in epics and costume pictures. (He once again assumed the roles of President Jackson in the 1958 remake of The Buccaneer.) As Moses in Cecil B. DeMille’s monumental remake of his own The Ten Commandments, Heston added the Old Testament to his repertoire
Admittedly, Heston perched atop Mt. Sinai all dolled up in hair stylist Nellie Manley’s Cottonelle sausage curls gives rise for laughter (as does a majority of the film’s dialog), yet the picture endures mostly through its majestic production design, persuasive matte shots and dazzling Technicolor complexion.
During the filming a dolorous Heston faced the blazing noonday sun weighted down under layers of Hebrew cloth. A pixelated Edward G. Robinson strolled by, noticed the actor’s discomfort and cracked, “It’s tough being a Jew, isn’t it, Chuck?”
As much as I delight in DeMille’s corn, William Wyler’s Ben-Hur (1959) is an epic of a different kind. At three-and-a-half hours (counting intermission) Ben-Hur is an epic bore. It’s a pile of sanctimonious slop that, aside from Miklos Rosza’s tremendous score, has nothing to recommend. Needless to say, the film garnered 11 Academy Awards, one of which went to Heston.
If Charlton Heston did only one thing over the course of his mega career to forever secure a place in the annals of film history, he saw to it that Orson Welles directed Touch of Evil (1958). The contractually obliged Welles reluctantly consented to play the role of corrupt detective Hank Quinlan. Heston signed on thinking that Welles was also going to direct and eventually convinced producer Albert Zugsmith to give the “difficult” filmmaker a shot. In return, Welles directed Heston in his finest role as a (believe it or not) honeymooning Mexican narcotics agent trying to take down a Tijuana dope ring. If you’re allowed one film in hell, I’m packing Touch of Evil.
Throughout his career Heston portrayed numerous historical heroes. In addition to Mose, Judah, Stonewall and Cody, Heston breathed life into John the Baptist (The Greatest Story Ever Told), Michelangelo (The Agony and the Ecstasy), General Charles ‘Chinese’ Gordon (Khartoum), Marc Antony (Julius Caesar, Antony and Cleopatra), Cardinal Richelieu (The Three Musketeers) and Henry VIII (The Prince and the Pauper).
Of all the figures drawn from history, it’s Rodrigo Díaz de Vivar in Anthony Mann’s stunning El Cid that leads the pack. Not that Heston matters much; El Cid is the director’s crowning epic and would have been a masterpiece with or without him, which is probably true of just about any quality picture Heston happened to appear in.
Science fiction fans undoubtedly remember Heston fondly for his trilogy of late 60s, early 70s futuristic films, Planet of the Apes, The Omega Man and Soylent Green. (Beneath the Planet of the Apes doesn’t count!) Apes remains a personal favorite with memories of Heston’s teeth, bigger and yellower than Moses’ tablets, writ large in anamorphic close ups.
Throughout the 70s Heston found work in a string of fashionable disaster films. He piloted ill-fated flights in Skyjacked and Airport ‘77, did little to rock the screen in the Senssurround productions Earthquake and Midway, saved football fans at the Two-Minute Warning and refused to keep the Gray Lady Down.
The rest of Heston’s work on screen consisted of nighttime soaps (Dynasty, The Colbys), made-for-TV adaptations of classics (A Man for All Seasons, Treasure Island, Genghis Khan) and voice for hire (Call from Space, Hercules, Armageddon).
Charlton Heston, James Baldwin, Marlon Brando & Harry Belafonte
Off screen Heston was quite the political activist. He was president of the Screen Actors Guild from 1965 to 1971. He campaigned for Adlai Stevenson and John F. Kennedy in addition to accompanying Martin Luther King on a civil rights march in 1963. After Robert Kennedy’s assassination, Heston became a vocal supporter of President Lyndon Johnson’s Gun Control Act of 1968. He also opposed Richard Nixon and the war in Vietnam.
What a difference a couple of decades make. By the 1980s Heston was a staunch advocate of affirmative action, had reversed his feelings on gun control and registered as a Republican. He was the President and cheerleader of the NRA from 1998 until he resigned in 2003. At the 2000 NRA convention, he raised a hand-made Brooks flintlock rifle over his head and declared that presidential candidate Al Gore would take away his Second Amendment rights “from my cold, dead hands.” It was the greatest performance of his career.
His last shining screen moment was self parody, only it’s hard to tell whether or not Heston was in on the joke. Co-starring opposite Warren Beatty in the sadly underrated Town and Country, Heston’s right wing, gun-toting lunatic father-in-law plays more like documentary footage rather than a performance.
As contemptuous as Heston’s political beliefs are, even I felt sorry for the guy when Michael Moore accosted the Alzheimer’s-stricken actor in his home and used the footage in Bowling for Columbine.
Take a moment to look at this clip from Orson Welles’ Touch of Evil. Were it not for Charlton Heston, we might not have the single-greatest shot ever recorded on film.
Photos:
Ben-Hur (+ Souvenir Program)
The Ten Commandments
Touch of Evil
El Cid
Planet of the Apes Tags: Actor, Alzheimers Disease, BEN-HUR, Charleton Heston, Charlton Heston, EL CID, Evanston, Movie Star, NRA, Obituary, Orson Welles, Photos, PLANET OF THE APES, THE TEN COMMANDMENTS, Video
Filed Under Obituaries