This movie was very touching and it changed the way I view elderly people. For a couple hours I saw the world from a new angle. It made me appreciate the freedoms I have. It showed me how memories are something to love and cherish. The three people named in the title truly care for one another because most of the time, they are all they have. I saw how close they had become and it made me feel I knew them personally. Allan King is an accomplished film-maker and here he has brought the viewer into the lives of these people and showed us what a day in their lives can be like. This movie touched me in a way that no other film has. Its a very personal film and I feel that even though this movie shows these senior citizens near the end of their lives and suffering from Alzheimer's and dementia they still retain their character. They are easily loved because they show love for one another.
2 Reviews
Memory for Max, Claire, Ida and Company (2005)
MartinTeller10 January 2012
King takes his camera inside a Jewish nursing home, and focuses on a group of residents with varying degrees of dementia and Alzheimer's. Although DYING AT GRACE deals with the end of life, I found this much more depressing. Perhaps too depressing, as these people struggle with their own lack of recall. When Claire repeatedly forgets that her best friend has died, she has to relive the sorrow of that discovery over and over again. The staff at the facility seem to be doing the best they can, but there is little you can do to alleviate the confusion and suffering of a deteriorating mind. There are some happy moments (Fay's unbridled joy over a visit from her son, who crassly boasts about the value of the watch he's gifted to her) but overall this was more uncomfortable than poignant. However, it left me with empathy for these people and their loved ones. I very much liked the social worker who the film seems to pivot around.
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