Directed by Sarah Polley
Even at the age of 62 years, Julie Christie seems far too youthful to be playing a woman who is in the final stretch of her life. Her character Fiona has been married for 44 years when she realises that she has the early stages of Alzheimer’s. Of course, comparisons will be made with the film Iris, based on the real life story of Iris Murdoch but unlike Iris, Fiona aspires to live out the rest of her life with a little grace and moves into a nursing home.
A condition of the Meadow Lake Nursing Home is that the residents get no visitors in the first month. When her husband Grant (Gordon Pinsent) eventually visits, Fiona has redefined their relationship. Grant finds it difficult when Fiona pushes him away and forms an attachment to fellow resident Aubrey (Michael Murphy), whom she knew in her youth. He had thought they had had a great life together but now he thinks that he is being punished for past indiscretions. Haunted by grainy flashbacks of Fiona, he turns to Aubrey’s wife Marion (Olympia Dukakis) for understanding, but she is busy trying to cope with her own dilemmas.
Based on the book by Alice Munro (The Bear Came Over the Mountain), the snowy Northern Ontario setting is ideal for a story of love and loss and universal karma. Unlike Iris, we are not confronted by the traumas of physical deterioration. Messier side-effects are set aside as the psychological drama plays out in sun-filled, cheery rooms. This is a memorable film, with the closing song by KD Lang (‘Helpless’) leaving the audience with a lot of food for thought.
