Away From Her

"On your right is a man. He's heartbroken. Broken into a million pieces."

That line, muttered by an Alzheimer's patient, comes about halfway through "Away From Her," Sarah Polley's confident and effective first film. It refers to the film's protagonist, and it wants to refer to us, for "Away From Her" is a movie that's out to break our hearts.

I don't see how it can't, really. The subject matter - the loss of a spouse to Alzheimer's Disease - is inherently heartbreaking, so much so that I began to apply the "endangered child" rule to the film. The "endangered child" rule goes like this: since we're genetically programmed to respond to endangered children, we check for cheap manipulation by asking, "Would the situation affect us this much if no children were involved?" In this case, the question becomes, "Is the situation handled effectively and honestly? Am I watching art or exploitation?" I wrestled with this, and almost came down on the side of exploitation at the quoted line. Then, however, I observed Gordon Pinsent as the heartbroken man. His was a reserved, inward performance; not one easily read. And yes, his heart was breaking, breaking into a million pieces. And he broke mine, too.

Eight Below

I went into EIGHT BELOW with low expectations. It was a Heroic Dog movie, after all, and those generally run from kitschy to depressing. Additionally, I thought that Bruce Greenwood played a villain. I like Bruce Greenwood; I didn’t want to see him play a villain.

What a pleasant surprise. While EIGHT BELOW begins slowly, it quickly picks up steam and keeps us involved in the adventure right through to the end. Here’s the short version: scientists must leave a team of sled dogs behind when they evacuate their Antarctic research station in the face of a coming storm. The movie, which is loosely based on a true story, chronicles the team’s struggle to survive and their human master’s struggle to mount an expedition to save them.

Paul Walker plays the master, and he builds on his fine work in RUNNING SCARED to deliver a character whom we accept as an Antarctic dogsledder and audience surrogate in our concern for the dogs. The dogs are heroic, of course, and though they do engage in behavior that runs counter to my understanding of sled-dog dynamics (As a former malamute owner, I have a passing interest in the subject.), they manage to hold our sympathy and win our respect.

Frank Marshall made EIGHT BELOW in Canada, but the film looks like he shot it in Antarctica. It’s stark, forbidding, and beautiful, and I can’t wait to see this thing in high definition.

Ultimately, I liked everything about EIGHT BELOW. And Bruce Greenwood doesn’t play a villain, after all.