Away from Her (2007)

Away from Her is a 2006 Canadian film which debuted at the Toronto International Film Festival and also played in the Premier category at the 2007 Sundance Film Festival. The feature-length directorial debut of Canadian actress Sarah Polley, the film is based on Alice Munro's short story "The Bear Came Over the Mountain", from the 2001 collection Hateship, Friendship, Courtship, Loveship, Marriage. It was executive produced by Atom Egoyan (Polley's director in both Exotica and The Sweet Hereafter) and distributed by Lionsgate.

The film stars Gordon Pinsent and Julie Christie as a couple whose marriage is tested when Christie's character begins to suffer from Alzheimer's and moves into a nursing home, where she loses virtually all memory of her husband and begins to develop a close relationship with another nursing home resident. The cast also includes Michael Murphy, Olympia Dukakis, Wendy Crewson, Alberta Watson, Lili Francks and Kristen Thomson. The film was shot primarily in Hamilton, with some location shooting in Brant, Kitchener, and Paris, Ontario.

Synopsis

Grant (Pinsent) and Fiona (Christie) are a retired married couple living in rural Brant County, Ontario. Fiona begins to lose her memory, and it becomes apparent she suffers from Alzheimer's disease. Throughout the film, Grant's reflections on his marriage are woven with his reflections on his own infidelities, and influence his eventual decisions regarding Fiona's happiness.

Actors