Movie · 2007 · Drama, Romance · 1h 50m · PG-13 · English
Curator score: 7.7/10 (33K ratings)
It's never too late to become what you might have been.
Overview
Fiona and Grant have been married for nearly 50 years. They have to face the fact that Fiona’s absent-mindedness is a symptom of Alzheimer’s disease. She must go to a specialized nursing home, where she slowly forgets Grant and turns her affection to Aubrey, another patient in the home.
Gordon Pinsent, Julie Christie, Michael Murphy, Olympia Dukakis, Kristen Thomson, Wendy Crewson, Alberta Watson, Thomas Hauff, Deanna Dezmari, Nina Dobrev, Grace Lynn Kung, Melanie Merkosky, Andrew Moodie, Clare Coulter, Stacey LaBerge, Lili Francks, Judy Sinclair, Tom Harvey, Carolyn Hetherington, Jessica Booker
Where to watch
Starz, Philo
Curator Review
Verdict
A quiet, devastating, and deeply humane drama about long marriage, memory loss, and the painful reshaping of love. It’s especially strong when it stays patient and observant, letting the performances carry the emotional weight rather than forcing melodrama.
Best for
viewers who want restrained tearjerkers
fans of intimate relationship dramas
people interested in Alzheimer’s and caregiving stories
audiences who value performance-driven films
Skip if
you want a plot-heavy or cathartic drama
you prefer romance with a conventional happy ending
you’re looking for a lighter take on illness or aging
slow, contemplative films tend to feel too subdued
Overview
Sarah Polley’s debut is built on restraint. Instead of turning Alzheimer’s into a series of big emotional beats, it watches what happens when a marriage is slowly reorganized by loss, habit, and dignity. The result is sad, but never manipulative; it trusts silence, routine, and small gestures to do the work.
Worth noting
Julie Christie gives the film its fragile center, but Gordon Pinsent is just as essential, grounding the story in the ache of being remembered and forgotten in equal measure. The film understands that long love is not just passion preserved over decades, but a set of compromises, disappointments, and acts of care that become visible only when everything starts to slip away.
Bottom line
What lingers is the film’s compassion. It refuses easy moral judgments about memory, fidelity, or devotion, and that makes it feel unusually honest. This is a sorrowful film, but also a mature one: tender, observant, and quietly devastating.
Top Letterboxd reviews
russman (4★) · 158 likes
I had a really good joke to use for this review, but I forgot it
Sam (4★) · 131 likes
This is a 2000s indie drama that managed to propel a stellar Julie Christie to a Golden Globe Award, a Critics Choice Award and a SAG Award for Best Actress. This type of acclaim and collection of accolades is rare for such an indie, but Christie being the name she is and delivering a performance that is so subtly stellar makes you realize that it all makes sense. However, when someone receives these awards in particular they usually take home… more This is a 2000s indie drama that managed to propel a stellar Julie Christie to a Golden Globe Award, a Critics Choice Award and a SAG Award for Best Actress. This type of acclaim and collection of accolades is rare for such an indie, but Christie being the name she is and delivering a performance that is so subtly stellar makes you realize that it all makes sense. However, when someone receives these awards in particular they usually take home… more
Scott Anderson (4.5★) · 78 likes
It seems to be an incredibly rare thing, to deliver a cinematic love story that actually feels authentic and genuine. Over the course of each year, week after week, films are released that are supposed to convey the emotional power of love starring two gorgeous individuals between the ages of 18 - 35. In these 94 minute shit storms, we see these quirky characters deliver a clunky, predictable script with various pop songs playing as they at some point during… more It seems to be an incredibly rare thing, to deliver a cinematic love story that actually feels authentic and genuine. Over the course of each year, week after week, films are released that are supposed to convey the emotional power of love starring two gorgeous individuals between the ages of 18 - 35. In these 94 minute shit storms, we see these quirky characters deliver a clunky, predictable script with various pop songs playing as they at some point during… more
anna nomaly (3.5★) · 67 likes
Sarah Polley’s debut isn’t interested in the things movies usually concern themselves with. There’s no grand sociological statement, there’s no interpersonal drama to work through, and there’s no catharsis. There couldn’t be. Instead, it simply observes a tragic situation, acknowledging by default how irreparable it is and grappling with that fact on a human level. What can you do when there’s nothing to be done? Compassion is the key. After walking a mile in her protagonists’ shoes, Polley finds beauty… more Sarah Polley’s debut isn’t interested in the things movies usually concern themselves with. There’s no grand sociological statement, there’s no interpersonal drama to work through, and there’s no catharsis. There couldn’t be. Instead, it simply observes a tragic situation, acknowledging by default how irreparable it is and grappling with that fact on a human level. What can you do when there’s nothing to be done? Compassion is the key. After walking a mile in her protagonists’ shoes, Polley finds beauty… more
John Frankensteiner (4★) · 57 likes
Sarah Polley: Super Bowl XLII MVP
This is a story about how Sarah Polley made me a better person while helping the New York Giants defeat the 18-0 New England Patriots on February 3, 2008 in Glendale, Arizona at Super Bowl XLII.
To begin, due to failing health, mainly Parkinson’s disease, my grandfather (whose name was Mickey and everyone, including myself called "The Mick") is forced to move into a nursing home in January 2007. My aunt and I move… more