Away from HerMovie Reviews

Poster art for "Away from Her."

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Must Go!
Avg. Critic Score: 88 out of 100 Universal acclaim Metascore® based on all critic reviews
Information for Parents:
14 OK for kids 14+
Read Common Sense Media review

Critic scores range from 0 to 100, with higher scores indicating more favorable reviews.

  • 100
    Washington Post | Ann Hornaday

    Rarely has love at any age been depicted so honestly on screen. For such a fully realized portrait to be created by a 28-year-old first-time director is even more remarkable. Read full review

  • 100
    San Francisco Chronicle | Ruthe Stein

    To say it is about a debilitating disease is as reductive as saying "Little Miss Sunshine" is about a beauty pageant. Both are intimate stories of family ties that bind but sometimes also choke. Read full review

  • 100
    Chicago Sun-Times | Roger Ebert

    Anyone who could read Munro's original story and think they could make a film of it, and then make a great film, deserves a certain awe. Read full review

  • 90
    Los Angeles Times | Carina Chocano

    Poignant, wise and unafraid -- just the sort of film for a young person, or any person, for that matter, to make. Read full review

  • 90
    The New York Times | A.O. Scott

    I can't remember the last time the movies yielded up a love story so painful, so tender and so true. Read full review

  • 88
    Rolling Stone | Peter Travers

    All the acting is first-rate -- Dukakis gives major dimensions to a supporting role. And Christie, a Sixties screen goddess in "Darling" and "Doctor Zhivago," shows that her spirit and grace are eternal. She's a beauty. So is the movie. Read full review

  • 88
    USA Today | Claudia Puig

    Does the finest job of any film in painting a believable portrait of aging, capturing the sadness, confusion, anxiety and defiance of the early stages of dementia. Read full review

  • 80
    The Hollywood Reporter |

    The pain of watching a spouse succumb to Alzheimer's is given a particularly deep and sensitive treatment in Away From Her. Read full review

  • 80
    Variety | Dennis Harvey

    What Away From Her achieves is quite admirable-- a low-key, intelligent setting for performances marked by those same qualities. Read full review

  • 75
    Entertainment Weekly | Lisa Schwarzbaum

    Munro's stark lily needed none of this gilding. Read full review

View more reviews for Away from Her on Metacritic

Information for Parents
Common Sense Media says OK for kids 14+ Melancholy Alzheimer's drama OK for teens and up.
What Parents Need to Know Parents need to know that although this affecting drama probably isn't too much for young teens in terms of sex, language, and violence, it does touch on adult issues such as infidelity, tackling these topics with a sense of refinement and sensitivity. Watching how Alzheimer's progresses can also be wrenching, and teens may need some guidance to process it all.
  • Families can talk about how the movie depicts Alzheimer's. Does it seem like a realistic look at the illness and how it devastates families? What about it is surprising (if anything)? And what is the movie's message about aging? Does it portray getting older in the same way that most other movies and TV shows do? How does marriage come across in the movie?
The good stuff
  • message true0 Positive messages: Allusions to infidelity as well as actual infidelity, though it's put into context. Some condescending behavior toward the sick on the part of an administrator at the assisted-living facility.
What to watch for
  • violence false0 Violence: None, save for emotional warfare.
  • sex false0 Sex: A husband and wife have sex, but it's only hinted at. Some kissing.
  • language false3 Language: Fairly mild, except for a few surprising -- though salient -- moments when "f--k" (and a derivative, "clusterf--k") is used.
  • consumerism false0 Consumerism: Some mentions of book titles and authors.
  • drugsalcoholtobacco false3 Drinking, drugs and smoking: One character smokes. Wine is served during a dinner (and actually plays an important role in the plot).
An independent nonprofit dedicated to providing families the information they need to help kids thrive in a world of media and technology. © Common Sense Media Inc. 2010. All rights reserved.

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Dave White

5.0

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… moving but unsentimental … Read full review See Dave White's on MOVIENAME on Movies.com

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Away from Her Movie Ratings + Reviews

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