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MOVIE REVIEW: The Leisure Seeker

Garth Cremona (RIP)

Donald Sutherland and Helen Mirren star as an elderly couple who take their mobile home on the road for one last outing while their children are losing their minds at home.  This is a film that has every range of emotion and I’ll admit it now that I went from crying to laughing and back to crying again.

There are films that try to deal with serious health issues, how we’re aging, Cancer, and dementia and for some reason they come up short.  These are important issues and the entertainment industry have a little problem with translating the illnesses and consequences of getting older and mixing in a good story.  Also it’s been a long time that Donald Sutherland has been able to spread his acting chops and also with Helen Mirren playing her actual age The Leisure Seeker brought me to places I didn’t know that I wanted to go.

The story really is that simple, a cross country road trip with an Elderly Couple, but it’s the script and the subtle direction that leave you wanting to be in the mobile home with them.  Helen Mirren’s character has been married to Donald Sutherland’s character for more than 50 years and you can tell that they still love each other very much.  Their performances make this film better than it would have been without them.  Mirren is suffering from late stage Cancer while Sutherland’s dementia is getting worse by the day.  Their children played by Janel Moloney and Christian McKay adds this dynamic that a lot of people are living now with the children becoming the parents of the Elder children.

There is so much heart in this film you can almost hear it beating through the running time.  You travel along the highways and parking spots of the couple and there are breadcrumbs about where the film is going to go.  Sutherland used to be a teacher of English and was loved by his students, a huge Hemingway fan, there are moments where the dementia fades and his clarity returns, you see the shock in the face of Mirren when this happens to the strange horror that fills her when the brief moments pass.

The Leisure Seeker is the name of the mobile home and is about 40 years out of date.  The couple try to ignite their memories by showing slides of their previous life together and there is frustration with both of them as Sutherland can’t remember the people closest to him through the years.  Revelations come out through the trip about their relationship and it takes the drama to whole different levels.  This film won’t be for everyone I have to admit that due to some personal reasons of my own I probably loved this film very easily and found it ultimately bewitching and beautiful.  The performances that bring the script to a different level and the people they meet along the way being bewildered by the dynamic of the couple made me feel it was on fresh tyres for the trip.

The backdrop for their trip is setting the film during the Trump Clinton Presidential Election and you have to think that this was just a coincidence, there may have been many posters along the route while film so they had to address that, as the moments where they get involved in that craziness give nothing to the story.  The film has so much to offer as it sugarcoats nothing, it shows the harshness of both illnesses, and keeps you glued to the screen until the bittersweet finale which some will find hard to swallow, but was note perfect for me.  Please this is worth your time.

[yasr_overall_rating size=”large”]

Director: Paolo Virzì
Writers: Michael Zadoorian (novel), Stephen Amidon (screenplay) | 3 more credits »
Stars: Helen Mirren, Donald Sutherland, Christian McKay | See full cast & crew

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Garth Cremona (RIP)
Comic book creator and movie reviewer. You can find out more at www.dublinwriter.com
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