Away From Her (2007)
89%RT Audience Score: 81%
Awards & Nominations: Nominated for 2 Oscars
62 wins & 42 nominations total
An accomplished directorial debut by Sarah Polley, Away From Her is a touching exploration of the effects of Alzheimer’s, in which the tender wisdom of Polley’s script is beautifully complemented by a wonderful performance from Julie Christie
Away From Her” is a movie that will make you laugh, cry, and question your own mortality all at once. Sarah Polley proves that she’s not just a talented actress, but also a director to watch out for. The film handles the sensitive topic of Alzheimer’s with warmth, humor, and heart, making it a must-watch for anyone who has ever loved someone with the disease. The cast shines under Polley’s direction, and the beautiful writing from Alice Munro’s short story will stay with you long after the credits roll. Just make sure you have a box of tissues handy.
Production Company(ies)
Red Light Films, HBO, Cinemax Documentary Creative Visions
Distributor
Lionsgate Films
Release Type
Filming Location(s)
Freeport Health Centre, Kitchener, Ontario, Canada
MPAA / Certificate
Rated PG-13 for some strong language
Year of Release
2007
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Color:Color
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Sound mix:Dolby Digital
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Aspect ratio:1.85 : 1
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Runtime:1h 49m
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Language(s):English
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Country of origin:United States
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Release date:Release Date (Theaters): May 4, 2007 Original
Release Date (Streaming): Sep 11, 2007
Genre(s)
Keyword(s)
starring Julie Christie, Gordon Pinsent, Olympia Dukakis, Michael Murphy, Kristen Thomson, Wendy Crewson, directed by Sarah Polley, written by Sarah Polley, drama, Alzheimer’s disease, box office performance, budget, reviewed by Nell Minow, Cliff Doerksen, Joshua Rothkopf, Richard Roeper, Marjorie Baumgarten, Roger Moore, Micheal Compton, Mattie Lucas, Dorothy Woodend, Nick Rogers, Fernando F Croce, PG-13, Lionsgate Films, produced by Daniel Iron, Simone Urdl, Jennifer Weiss
Worldwide gross: $9,194,283
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): $13,171,435
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 1,875
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): 1,436,361
US/Canada gross: $4,571,521
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted): $6,549,014
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 1,730
US/Canada opening weekend: $114,628
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted): $164,212
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): 1,744
Budget and Earnings Details
Production budget (est.): CA$4,000,000
Production budget (inflation-adjusted): NA
Production budget ranking: NA
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.): NA
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.): NA
ROI to date (est.): NA
ROI ranking: NA
Gordon Pinsent – Grant
Olympia Dukakis – Marian
Michael Murphy – Aubrey
Kristen Thomson – Kristy
Wendy Crewson – Madeleine
Sarah Polley – Director, Writer
Daniel Iron – Producer
Simone Urdl – Producer
Jennifer Weiss – Producer
Director(s)
Sarah Polley
Writer(s)
Sarah Polley
Producer(s)
Daniel Iron, Simone Urdl, Jennifer Weiss
Film Festivals
Awards & Nominations
Nominated for 2 Oscars
62 wins & 42 nominations total
Academy Awards
All Critics (144) | Top Critics (51) | Fresh (136) | Rotten (8)
February 14, 2012 | Rating: B
Nell Minow
Movie Mom
TOP CRITIC
November 18, 2011 | Rating: 5/5
Cliff Doerksen
Time Out
TOP CRITIC
November 17, 2011 | Rating: 5/5
Joshua Rothkopf
Time Out
TOP CRITIC
Sarah Polley, a terrific actress, now serves notice that she is a director to watch.
May 21, 2007
Richard Roeper
Ebert & Roeper
TOP CRITIC
Away From Her is a phantom of a movie whose beautiful flakes fall into the deep crevices of memory long after the seasons change.
May 18, 2007 | Rating: 4/5
Marjorie Baumgarten
Austin Chronicle
TOP CRITIC
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.
May 18, 2007 | Rating: 4/5
Roger Moore
Orlando Sentinel
TOP CRITIC
Polley’s direction is simple, yet assured, with a vision that allows the actors to shine. The cast is more than up to the task.
November 21, 2019 | Rating: A
Micheal Compton
Bowling Green Daily News
Polley displays a keen understanding of the sense of confusion and loss that goes along with Alzheimer’s, and she handles it well, guiding the film with a warmth, humor, and heart.
July 6, 2019 | Rating: 3.5/4
Mattie Lucas
From the Front Row
That the film does justice to the original short story is saying something.
August 23, 2017
Dorothy Woodend
The Tyee (British Columbia)
No one dreams of the twilight transpiring in “Away From Her,” but, in its words, it’s not bad luck. It’s just life. You can’t beat life. A tenderly told tragedy about Alzheimer’s Disease’s erosive effects, Sarah Polley’s film avoids movie-of-the-week sap.
September 25, 2010 | Rating: 3.5/4
Nick Rogers
The Film Yap
Too content with its own “maturity” and “restraint,” yet it invaluably offers Christie for audiences in delicate contemplation, and chaste consummation
August 27, 2009
Fernando F. Croce
CinePassion
October 18, 2008 | Rating: 2.5/4
Scott Nash
Three Movie Buffs…
Plot
Grant and Fiona Anderson have been married for forty-four years. Their marriage has been a generally happy and loving one although not perfect due to some indiscretions when Grant was working as a college professor. Fiona has just been admitted to Meadowlake, a long term care facility near their country home in southwestern Ontario, because her recent lapses of memory have been diagnosed as a probable case of Alzheimer’s disease. She and Grant made this decision together, although a still lucid Fiona seems to have made peace with the decision and her diagnosis more so than Grant. With respect to the facility, what Grant has the most difficulty with are what he sees as the sadness associated with the facility’s second floor – where the more advanced cases are housed – but most specifically the facility’s policy of no visitors within the first thirty days of admission to allow the patient to adjust more easily to their new life there. Based on what he sees when he is finally able to visit Fiona, Grant ultimately makes a request of Marian Barque, the wife of one of the other patients, a semi-comatose Aubrey Barque, with whom Fiona has struck a friendship and who is now at home permanently with Marian. The request is to see to both Fiona and his own happiness in this unfortunate situation.
Trivia
Goofs / Tidbits
Julie Christie gives an “astoundingly nuanced and sensitive performance” as Fiona in Away From Her, according to an audience review.
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