Away From Her (2007)

The story of a long-term marriage coming to an emotional end due to Alzheimer's.

The husband does an amazing, heart-breaking job. I was overwhelmed while watching this movie because it put on screen one of my most intangible fears: what heaven is going to be like. I'm so nuts about my husband that, even in the afterlife, I can't stand the thought of not being coupled with him. I think that the Bible passage that explains there's no marriage in heaven is meant to be a reassuring one, i.e.: don't worry if you hated your spouse or had multiple partners -- the slate's wiped clean up there! But, for me, it's always meant that the love of my life will just be another soul among many. Gary's always been fine with the idea of heaven -- his take is "I just trust it'll be better" and that's always hurt my feelings. Basically, this movie shows a woman who's forgotten the life before and is happy in her new world while her husband yearns for the old -- juggling the fragments of his heart while his wife smiles into the face of another man. That's hell.

There's a whiff of "Breaking the Waves" here as one spouse embarks on a sexual relationship solely for the benefit of the other...which is especially interesting given that his marriage was hurt in years past by his indulging in sexual relationships solely to satisfy himself.

Wendy Crewson as the all-business administrator with limited people skills was just perfect -- so perfect that, at first, I thought she was too stiff.

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