Full Review

The opportunity to see screen legend Julie Christie in a rare starring vehicle would be reason alone to catch this film.

But "Away From Her" (Lionsgate) is an exceptionally poignant tale about the debilitating effects of Alzheimer's disease that should resonate deeply not only with anyone who has gone through that terrible disease -- or indeed been in any kind of caregiver situation -- with a loved one.

In this adaptation of the Alice Munro story "The Bear Came Over the Mountain," Grant Andersson (Gordon Pinsent) must cope with wife Fiona's (Julie Christie) gradual loss of memory from the disease. The couple has been married 44 years.

When the film opens, Fiona is just returning from a cross-country skiing outing, looking quite radiant, and her memory lapses have not yet reached a critical stage. Her wit and humor are still intact, and she seems reasonably in control, even if she must rely on such aids as labeling the kitchen drawers and such.

She soon comes to realize, though, her need for assisted living, but Grant is appalled at both the bureaucracy of the Meadowlake facility when he goes to check it out, and the dead-end existence of the patients, especially those so far gone they're relegated to the second floor. Most intolerable to him is the enforced 30-day separation he must endure if she goes there. Despite his qualms, Fiona pragmatically insists she must go.

In full command when she checks in, she and Grant enjoy one final physical encounter (nongraphic), and she sends him away.

When he comes to visit after one month, he finds her distressingly complacent in her new life, distant from him, and clearly emotionally attached to mute fellow patient Aubrey (Michael Murphy), who seems in far worse condition than she. Grant lures her away from the bridge-playing table with some difficulty.

Aubrey is ultimately taken home by wife Marian (Olympia Dukakis), whom Grant later seeks out, to selflessly effect Aubrey's return to the facility, if it will help the declining Fiona who now misses her friend terribly. Marian initially opposes the idea, but an inevitable bond forms between the two lonely spouses.

It's a bit of a spoiler to reveal that, in their loneliness, Grant and Marian do eventually consummate their growing affection for each other -- which is, of course, morally problematic from a Catholic perspective, even under these tragic circumstances.

The vibrant presence of Christie in one of her finest performances helps make what might have been an unbearably sad film tolerable. It's a wonderfully brave performance. And though Christie looks hardly less striking than she did in her "Doctor Zhivago" and Oscar-winning "Darling" heyday, she fearlessly limns the debilitating effects of the disease, never making a false move.

Pinsent is no less convincing as the devoted husband. Even though we learn his character, a professor, once had affairs with his students earlier in their marriage, his devotion to Fiona in her decline is beautifully conveyed. Murphy is fine even without speaking, while Kristen Thomson and Wendy Crewson convincingly embody the best and the worst, respectively, of hospital personnel.

Writer-director Sarah Polley's uncompromising film may bring up painful memories for some, but others will find it a well-crafted love story as much about the nature of memory as about Alzheimer's per se, and there's a heart-tugging conclusion.

The film contains a few rough expletives, a character's past infidelity and an adulterous affair. The USCCB Office for Film & Broadcasting classification is A-III -- adults. The Motion Picture Association of America rating is PG-13 -- parents strongly cautioned. Some material may be inappropriate for children under 13.

Movies have been evaluated by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishop's Office for Film and Broadcasting according to artistic merit and moral suitability. The reviews include the USCCB rating, the Motion Picture Association of America rating, and a brief synopsis of the movie.

The classifications are as follows:

• A-I -- general patronage;
• A-II -- adults and adolescents;
• A-III -- adults;
• A-IV**
• L -- limited adult audience, films whose problematic content many adults would find troubling. L replaces the previous classification, A-IV.
• O -- morally offensive.