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An elderly couple fight against local authorities in rural New Brunswick to build their final home.
James Cromwell has been around since the early seventies but he only really came to prominence as an actor in 1995 when he played Farmer Hoggett in the smash hit movie “Babe”. It is in my top five favorite movies of all time. It was nominated for an Oscar for Best Film that year and even though “Schindler’s List” was poised to win, with “In the Name of the Father” and “The Fugitive” close behind, there was a very big part of me that desperately wanted “Babe” to win. It was a beautiful story about a young pig who is saved by a farmer and Mr. Cromwell was also nominated for his role and rightly so. He gave an exemplary performance that I felt, again, like the movie, should have won.
After watching “Still Mine”, in many ways, it could be viewed as a continuation of “Babe”, the events taking place twenty years later. Mr. Cromwell plays Craig Morrison and Geneviève Bujold plays his wife Irene, a retired couple who live in an old two-story house in scenic New Brunswick. Irene is slowly succumbing to Alzheimer’s and Craig is doing his best to deal with it. After Irene falls down the stairs and suffers a concussion, Craig is determined to build a smaller more manageable house for them to live in the rest of their days. He owns a lot of acreage in the county and decides on a spot with a breathtaking view that overlooks the bay.
As he begins his solo endeavor, he slowly realizes that just because he owns the land, doesn’t necessarily mean that he can build whatever he wants. He’s told that he needs permits from the local city council and has to adhere to their strict building codes and procedures. Because he’s not an architect, he employs his grandson, an engineer by trade, to help him out but because he’s busy with his day job, he informs him that it could take a while. During that time, Craig sees no problem with him continuing to build the house but eventually, he is served and has to appear in court before a judge where he plans on fighting his case, his family and friends by his side.
All this time, he is also dealing with his wife’s decaying memory. While she can remember some things, it becomes quite apparent that it is worsening, accelerating much faster than their doctor’s anticipated. “Still Mine” is one of the most beautiful love stories I have ever seen. Forget about teen romances like “Twilight”, “Say Anything” and “Romeo & Juliet”, this film shows what true love is really about, two people that have been together for over sixty years who stand by each other, through thick and thin, no matter what. Even with her memory fading, Craig reassures Irene that no matter what happens, he will always be by her side.
In one heartbreaking scene, Craig is sitting in a church with Irene by his side. He is attending the funeral of a lifelong friend who has just passed and with the grief at hand, along with the concern accompanying his wife’s memory loss and all the house issues, he breaks down in a scene that literally brought me to tears. Obviously a very strong but stubborn man, prone to keeping all his feelings inside, he finally just languishes into a sobbing state that he cannot control. Mr. Cromwell fills the movie with heartfelt humor and unforced humanity while Ms. Bujold is completely confident in her role, never aspiring for effect and at no time, wanting us to be sure we get the message.
Both actors are so convincing in their respective roles that they make complex look easy and lose credit for their proficiency. Director Michael McGowan does an excellent job showing the heartache of what it’s like to live with someone who is suffering from Alzheimer’s and not just from their viewpoint, worrying that they’ll wake up one day and forget everything, but also the painful perspective of the person looking after them and, after spending an entire lifetime with them, how they’ll cope when they are no longer around. This movie is one of my personal picks for the best film of the year. Very highly recommended.
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