Another Minority Opinion

Away from Her is far too fastidious and "literary" and "tasteful" for me. And maybe I'm naive, but how many Alzheimer's patients check themselves into a nursing home after such mild episodes as putting a frying pan in the freezer and taking a walk on a bridge? Talk about soft-pedaling an issue! I was also distracted by Julie Christie's strange accent, not that that's really important. (She will always be Sixties Brit Goddess to me.) She's pretty good, but I hated most of the supporting cast...both the way the roles are written and how they're played. It's visually undistinguished, clumsily written, and the ersatz Bergman touches make it worse.

This is actually similar to the way I reacted to The Lives of Others, which nearly everybody besides me also likes. These are what used to be done as prestigious special TV movies (except TV is often better than they are now). They take an Important Subject and don't really do anything interesting or imaginative with it; they are noble - and sterile. And the awards roll in.