How would it feel to pick up a box of cereal and not know why you did it, or what you can do with it? Or to be in your own home and yet want to go back home? That's how someone afflicted with Alzheimer's feels, every minute of every day. That is what Away From Her, the directorial debut of actress Sarah Polley, is all about. Fiona Anderson (Christie) insists on being admitted to a home before her condition worsens. This leaves Grant (Pinsent), her husband of 45 years, in a unique predicament. Not only does he have to face loneliness after more than half his life, but also deal with the possibility of being forgotten as his Fiona falls in love with a co-patient Aubrey.

Set in Ontario, Canada, this almost all-Canadian film is about love, loss and acceptance. The best thing about this film is its screenplay. Adapted from a short story by Alice Munro, Polley does an amazing job of creating layers to her writing, so as to make it neither monotonous nor predictable. In fact, the fantastic climactic scene may even confuse the novice about the end, but the pathos injected is so natural, it transcends the realms of reel.

As a story, Away From Her is essentially a tragedy, but the definition of romance is very cleverly altered, as Grant makes his love about giving. Gordon Pinsent does an amazing job, with a restrained underplayed performance, in a role which would've been severely damaged, by overdone histrionics. His is perhaps the most challenging role in the film, and he carries it off with aplomb. The Grant Anderson he creates is loving, dedicated, devoted, possessive, jealous, and overbearingly ridden by guilt. They say that most of acting is about reacting. In this movie, a large amount of scope is given to reacting, and wonderful performances are thus elicited.

Meadowlake is shown as a top-line facility, and it resonates with authenticity, right from the steel-nerved apathetic administrators (kudos to Crewson and Thomas), and in sharp contrast, Polley indulges metaphors in the depiction of the Andersons' house, set amidst the snow. Certain flashback scenes, though succumbing to cliché of shaky, home video effects, are beautiful. Life is like walking through the snow, and having Alzheimer's is like having to do it in a haze. Frank's early adultery, the hidden layers of friction and guilt in a seemingly perfect relationship, Fiona's enigmatic demeanor, Nurse Kristy's painfully frank attitude, all display a crystal understanding of human relationships, and research all way beyond the young 26 years of the director, or her lack of experience as a writer.

The performances by the supporting cast are appropriately relegated to the sidelines in the larger scope, but they remain important and effective. Notable amongst these is Academy Award Winner Olympia Dukakis, who plays Marian, the jaded wife of an invalid husband, with the necessary bitterness and cynicism to lend it authenticity and impact.

The biggest trump card of all is, predictably, Julie Christie. In a role written for her, Christie fits perfectly in the skin of the scared, unsure, yet independent and brave Fiona. Polley did well to insist that Christie play this part, for if she had refused this role, like many she did in her prime, movie watchers everywhere would have missed the brilliance she exudes. There is a scene where Fiona asks Grant how she looked. He replies, "Same as always. Direct and vague, sweet and ironic." One could easily add regal to this astute description, as Christie still looks like a queen, and has the aura to carry it off.

Technically, being an independent film, Away From Her is shot intimately, with no filters, mainly in natural light, straight angles, and cozy frames. But all of this works for it, and cinematographer Luc Montpellier deserves mention for this. The sound design as well, while not being elaborate, has a very nice exactness to it.

No movie is perfect, but for the subject matter, Polley's execution is damn near close to being it. It isn't often that you come out of a cinema, resolve to never watch the film again, and yet know that you've experienced something you could never regret. Away From Her is that kind of cinema. I haven't read The Bear Came Over a Mountain, but I daresay even Munro would be proud of this movie. And that's the biggest compliment one could give to an adapted movie.