柳暗花明 Away From Her review by PAM GRADY 英语影评

柳暗花明，Away From Her
There are moments in Sarah Polley's dazzling, wrenching feature debut, Away From Her, in which cinematographer Luc Montpellier lights Julie Christie just so. That icon from the Swinging '60s is 65 now, but in those moments, framed in soft light, the young woman is still present, you see her peeking out of the lined face. Then, too, there is her walk in the drama's early scenes, a sinuous swinging step, y and graceful as a cat. She's playing Fiona, who, after the tumultuous early years of her marriage, has at last found an idyllic happiness with Grant (Gordon Pinsent), a retired college professor and her husband of five decades. But when the couple can no longer ignore her frequent and increasingly severe memory loss, they are forced to confront the fact that the enjoyment of their golden years is over. Fiona has Alzheimer's disease, and there is no stopping its onslaught.
Polley adapted her screenplay from the Alice Munro short story "The Bear That Came Over the Mountain," and the story she tells is a love story, albeit one in which one partner helplessly watches the other slip away. It is, nevertheless, a tale of true devotion. Grant would like Fiona to stay home with him for as long as possible. Caring for her will be a challenge, but one he feels is his duty. She disagrees, deciding that the time has come to enter Meadowlake, a board-and-care facility. They have one hard-and-fast rule: Gordon cannot visit during her first month of confinement, a way of helping her settle into her new surroundings. It might be a kindness to her, but it is a cruelty to him, as it only takes that long for him to become a stranger to her.

Grant remains steadfast, doggedly visiting every day, bringing her books, reading to her, and determinedly trying to jog her vanishing memories. At times, he only watches her, his distress growing as she becomes attached to another patient, Aubrey (Michael Murphy). But he will put up with her attentions to Aubrey if it keeps her somewhat sentient; he has seen patients in the latter stages of the disease and is not anxious for Fiona to join them. And day by day, her deterioration is evident, manifesting itself not just in memory loss, but also in her very walk, her grace giving way to a painful shuffle. Her very essence is disappearing before his eyes.
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In a way, this is a story about grief. Grant is losing his wife years before he will have to officially bury her, and he feels that loss keenly. Yet, because she is still living, he remains caught between his memories and the faint hope that she may still have moments of lucidity in her. He is guilt-ridden, too—the infidelities of his teaching years haunt him. Christie is fantastic; this is simply a great performance as we, like Grant, witness Fiona's disintegration. But as great as she is, the film belongs to Pinsent, an actor who is little known in the United States but a giant in his native Canada. In limning Grant's love and devotion for this woman who is slipping away, he gives a mesmerizing, resonant performance, one that will break your heart.

For 27-year-old actress-turned-filmmaker Polley, Away from Her marks quite an achievement. Nothing in her vivid screenplay or adroit direction gives one to believe that this is a freshman effort. The film suggests the work of a veteran artist at the top of her game. Polley is starting from a very lofty place. We can only marvel at what she might do next.

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