Away from Her

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Away From Her ★★★ 2006

Polley makes her directorial debut with this adaptation of the Alice Munro story “The Bear Who Came Over the Mountain.” Grant (Pinsent) and Fiona (Christie) have been married more than 40 years when she is diagnosed with Alzheimer's. As her mental acuity deteriorates, Fiona insists on entering a nursing home, where she befriends another married patient (Murphy), while Grant struggles to cope with the changes. Gracefully aging '60s British icon Christie is well-matched by Canadian actor Pinsent in a tender story about love and loss that shouldn't be seen by cynics. 110m/C DVD . CA Julie Christie, Gordon Pinsent, Olympia Dukakis, Michael Murphy, Wendy Crewson, Alberta Watson, Kristen Thomson; D: SarahPolley; W: Sarah Polley; C: Luc Pontpellier; M: Jonathan Goldsmith. Golden Globes '08: Actress—Drama (Christie); Screen Actors Guild '07: Actress (Christie).