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Julie Christie, Gordon Pinsent, Olympia Dukakis, Michael Murphy, Kristen Thomson ... see more see more... , Wendy Crewson , Stacey Laberge , Deanna Dezmari , Clare Coulter , Thomas Hauff , Alberta Watson , Grace Lynn Kung , Lili Francks , Andrew Moodie , Judy Sinclair , Tom Harvey , Melanie Merkosky , Jessica Booker , Janet Van de Graff , Vanessa Vaughan , Catherine Fitch , Ron Hewat , Jason Knight , Nina Dobrev

Filmmaker Atom Egoyan -- a longtime onscreen collaborator with the gifted young actress Sarah Polley (The Sweet Hereafter) -- executive-produced Polley's directorial debut, Away from Her, starring Jul... read more read more...ie Christie, Olympia Dukakis, Michael Murphy, and Wendy Crewson. Adapted by Polley from a short story by Alice Munro, this small-scaled two-character drama concerns Grant (Gordon Pinsent) and Fiona (Christie), a long-married couple, well into their golden years, who are much in love and connected to one another on every level. "Soul mates" in the purest sense of the term, the two feel a sense of ease and tranquility in their rural home. But when Fiona's memory begins to slip away and she insists on being taken to a rest home, the decision stirs up torrents of guilt and regret in Grant's heart. The rules of the center only complicate matters, as they forbid visitation and communication with Fiona for an interminable period of time. He determines to support his wife at all costs, even if must happen at the expense of his own peace of mind. ~ Nathan Southern, Rovi

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80% liked it

112,231 ratings

Critics

94% liked it

143 critics

PG-13, 1 hr. 49 min.

Directed by: Sarah Polley

Release Date: January 20, 2007

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DVD Release Date: September 11, 2007

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Stats: 4,776 reviews

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JULIE CHRISTIE Away from Her(Loin d'elle) (2007) wendy crewson Sarah Polley for Away from Her(Loin d'elle) (2007) Away from Her (Loin d'elle) (2007) Scene from Away from Her(Loin d'elle) (2007) Away from Her(Loin d'elle) (2007) Olympia Dukakis as Marian in Away from Her(Loin d'elle) (2007) Away from Her Away from Her Away from Her Away from Her Away from Her Away from Her
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Flixster Reviews (4,776)

  • brooklynspo
    January 30, 2008
    brooklynspo
    I thought I was watching a great Atom Egoyan movie. Turns out I was watching a great Sarah Polley movie. Very poignant, very Canadian.

    Really liked this film. Gordon Pinsent and Julie Christie both gave wonderfully full performances.
  • romy861
    November 18, 2009
    romy861
    I struggled getting into this one, just because it is such a horrible subject (altzheimers disease). Obviously this was never going to be a laugh a minute. However, the acting by both Julie Christie and Gordon Pinsent is so well done that it somehow doesn't wind up totally depr... read moreessing, even though it probably should be. A bit different to what you normally see in the movies. Recommended.
  • Redlats
    June 9, 2009
    Redlats
    I have put off seeing this movie. I find movies about Alzheimer's scary since my mother went through it before she passed on. But scary or not, you should see "Away from her". It is wonderfully played and wonderfully directed. Sarah Polley just shows you what Alzheimer's can do.
  • SilentWarProductions2009
    January 20, 2009
    SilentWarProductions2009
    Directed by: Sarah Polley.
    Starring: Julie Christie, Olypmia Dukakis, Gordon Pinsent.

    <<"I'd like to make love, and then I'd like you to go. Because I need to stay here and if you make it hard for me, I may cry so hard I'll never stop.">>

    The ... read morestory introduces us to elderly married couple Fiona and Grant, of 44 years, who are still very much in love since they day they got married. Fiona has Alzheimer's and is slowly deteriorating away at such a young age, it has come to the point that they must send her to a nursing home. There, she is left for 30 days to adjust away from Grant (or as such, the other way around) and when he goes to visit, he must deal with the pain of what she has come to and the strange affection Fiona has built with another male patient.

    No words of mine can describe the sheer beauty and brilliance of this film, a film deserving of Oscars, that I hope this time next year, the film will be recognized by a wider audience.

    The strongest element of this film is most certainly Sarah Polley, a young actress of 28 years old doing her first directional/writing feature debut and she is wise beyond her years. She has created a poetic masterpiece that is so pure and so well developed, the dialogue is amazingly strong and thoughtful, she injects such humanity and heart into every element of this picture that she seems to finally be a light in dark Hollywood.

    Julie Christie has only ever been a name to me, being the age that I am, I don't think I have had the pleasure of seeing her films to see why her name is praised so much...now I can see why. She delivers one of the most heartwarming, heartbreaking, powerfully poetic performances in many years, she shows such great range and her experience shines through on screen, if she doesn't win the Oscar next year, then it will be a disgrace.

    The supporting cast is also very strong, from the humorous ex-sports caster and cheeky elderly woman, to the simple roles of silence from the patients, but the standout is Gordon Pinset. Another actor I wish I had seen along time ago. He has a very tricky role that requires a lot of depth,control and most of all, believability...and he hits it right on the head. Its all in his eyes and his face, he shows wisdom in his years, his face appears very detailed to show a hard life, his eyes have so much love and loss in them, that he steals every scene he is in.

    Unforgettable, poetic, deep, moving, thoughtful, heartwarming, heartbreaking...no words of mine can do this film any justice, it needs to be seen and loved. A masterpiece.

    90/100

    << "I think all we can aspire to in this situation is a little bit of grace. " >>
  • arashxak
    July 12, 2008
    arashxak
    Not a bad movie but it's so overrated, The main storyline is good and all but the movie is somehow uninteresting specially in its dialogue lines
  • hobster1
    June 24, 2008
    hobster1
    Overrated TV style movie about husband's inability to make peace with his wife's Alzheimer's disease. Difficult to care about a character who has no emotion for the husband that loves her.
  • binky013
    May 30, 2008
    binky013
    Because I have known people who've died from complications due to Alzheimer's, and because my dad is actually right now "on the second floor," it is difficult for me to take this film to task. So I'll go easy with just this one sticking point. The whole adultery angle, historic... read moreally in one marriage, and current in both, is pervasive to a point of undercutting and even obscuring the depth of love these two pairs of husbands and wives have felt for each other and how each has been impacted by the disease acting upon one spouse. Pinsent's bartering with forced companionship and finally sex with Dukakis for the hope of bringing happiness to his wife by hauling Murphy back to the care facility is fairly disturbing. He was a philanderer then, and he's a philanderer now. Maybe he would be well served if Christie were in part seeking to punish him for his wandering eye by "faking" the progression of her illness. Did they really want to introduce this into the story? It's a mistake. I've read and enjoyed a lot of Munro, but I've not read this story. My guess is, if this is a close adaptation, that I would not enjoy the story.

    Enough. Julie Christie pulls off one of her better performances here, but if you want to see a truly moving film about the devastating effects of Alzheimer's, you must see Memories of Tomorrow (Ashita no kioku) with Ken Watanabe.
  • tsigur
    April 7, 2008
    tsigur
    This movie has some heartbreaking scenes, but there are also a couple of scenes that seem to be from a totally different movie.
  • rubystevens
    March 2, 2008
    rubystevens
    a quiet bittersweet film about the tragedy of alzheimer's. really touching and very nice job by sarah polley in her directorial debut. much better than the notebook actually
  • SarahG1988
    February 16, 2008
    SarahG1988
    Director:Sarah Polley
    Released: 2007
    Stars: Gordon Pinsent,Julie Christie, Olympia Dukakis and Alberta Watson
    Genre: Drama / Romance
    Country: Canada

    ... read moreg" target="_blank">Photobucket

    Fiona and Grant are an Ontario couple who have been married for over 40 years. Now, in the oncoming twilight of their years, they are forced to face the fact that Fiona's "forgetfulness" actually is Alzheimer's Disease. After Fiona wanders away and is found after being lost, they agree she must go into a nursing home. For the first time in the five decades their relationship has spanned, they are forced to undergo a long-time separation since the nursing home has a "no-visitors" policy for the first 30 days of a patient's stay, so they can adjust to their new surroundings. When Grant visits Fiona after the orientation period, he is devastated to find out that not only has she seemingly forgotten him, Fiona has transferred her affections to another man. The other man is Aubrey, a wheelchair bound mute patient at the nursing home. As the distance between husband and wife grows, Grant must draw upon his love for Fiona to perform an act of self-sacrifice in order to ensure her happiness.

    Review coming sometime soon....well....maybe

View All Away from Her Reviews

Critic Reviews

Richard Roeper
May 21, 2007
Richard Roeper, Ebert & Roeper

Sarah Polley, a terrific actress, now serves notice that she is a director to watch.

Roger Moore
May 18, 2007
Roger Moore, Orlando Sentinel

Beautifully written, from an Alice Munro short story, this movie directed by an actress rarely missteps, even when it bravely includes the dark humor inherent in this situation. Full Review

Ruthe Stein
May 11, 2007
Ruthe Stein, San Francisco Chronicle

Away From Her got to me in a way no other movie has this year, eliciting copious tears. Full Review

Amy Biancolli
May 11, 2007
Amy Biancolli, Houston Chronicle

Sarah Polley's sad, wise and simply dazzling directorial effort beams with warmth.

Robert Denerstein
May 11, 2007
Robert Denerstein, Denver Rocky Mountain News

Away From Her deals with a subject that easily could have turned maudlin. But the performances in Away From Her are pitch-perfect throughout, and Polley never begs for an emotional response she doesn'...

Lisa Kennedy
May 11, 2007
Lisa Kennedy, Denver Post

Upon seeing Away From Her again, I'm content with my sense memory. I'm even more pleased with how much of this fine film's nuance and detail feel fresh. Full Review

Paige Wiser
May 11, 2007
Paige Wiser, Chicago Sun-Times

Away From Her isn't just a portrait of Alzheimer's. For a generation that doesn't have a lot of marital role models, it's also a lyrical portrait of what it means to stick with a person for the long r... Full Review

Richard Nilsen
May 10, 2007
Richard Nilsen, Arizona Republic

In Away From Her, four of the best actors in the world turn material worthy of their talents into the best movie of the year so far. The result is moving the way the best-written literature can be, te... Full Review

Jonathan Rosenbaum
May 10, 2007
Jonathan Rosenbaum, Chicago Reader

It's Christie who places this powerful love story about the cruelties of aging within hailing distance of Leo McCarey's sublime Make Way for Tomorrow. Full Review

Colin Covert
May 10, 2007
Colin Covert, Minneapolis Star Tribune

A wise and tender Alzheimer's drama.

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  • What movie had these quotes "I may be synthetic but im not stupid" and "Get away from her you B****!"   Answer »
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