Synopsis
Amadeus is slowly forgetting everything that makes him him thanks to Alzheimer's. His granddaughter decides to take him on a trip to relive moments from his past.
Review
This concept was originally created for the German language film Honig Im Kopf that was released in 2014, both were directed and co-written by Til Schweiger. From what I've read online Schweiger gave the original script to Nolte wanting to make it in English. He was keen to have him star in it and upon meeting his daughter, Sophie, he was also excited at the prospect of having her play Amadeus' granddaughter.
Given the casting it's not really surprising that the bond between Amadeus and Matilda is so strong, the pair's age gap comes in very handy for this story. Sophie does particularly well considering it's her first acting job and she shows that naivety and optimism that children have in the face troubling news. Throughout she manages to give us a simple performance that feels much more like real life than acting.
Nick Nolte's role was always going to have its challenges. It was difficult to gauge the time frame that the film was set over but we see the progression of Alzheimer's in Amadeus from forgetting to forgotten. There were moments of real sadness and Nolte doesn't do a bad job of depicting all of it.
Nick and Sarah, played by Matt Dillon and Emily Mortimer, are Amadeus' son and daughter-in-law and they also go through their own transitions. Their relationship is strained and the addition to their household definitely doesn't help things. It's a bit of a typical story though, a troubled marriage is "fixed" by the power of family.
Neither character was particularly enjoyable to watch, Nick is in denial often to the point of becoming frustrating, and Sarah is quick to temper in an overly dramatic way. The only scene that I particularly liked with them both in it was the debacle of a party that they have, Nick actually gave me a chuckle as he stands there ignoring the battlefield that erupts around him. Sarah doesn't have a lot of consistency throughout the film, first she's sympathetic, then she's angry, and it goes backwards and forwards quite a lot with no real sense to it.
Throughout most of the "main event" of the story I sat there pondering how stupid it all was. I like the idea that his granddaughter wants to help him remember things while he still can, but the idea that she would be able to succeed in the way that she does is mad and not heartwarming or resourceful. At every turn there is something that makes it evident he probably shouldn't be looking after a young girl and yet there is very little querying by anyone. I was also puzzled by the fact he was able to purchase the extortionately priced tickets on his credit card, but maybe that's just me being sensible with a relatively small upper limit.
The other thing that I found to be very out of place, potentially something that's a hangover from the original version, was the depiction of the police. I can't repeat what I actually wrote in my notes. Basically, Nick and Sarah go to their local police because Amadeus and Matilda are missing and point out that they've disappeared and that he has Alzheimer's and isn't capable of being the responsible adult, the police then tell them to go away. The kid isn't abducted or missing because she's with family. It doesn't seem to matter that he's not all there, which they know because Sarah had picked him up earlier in the movie. That attitude and the behaviour are not at all what I would call typical for the situation, there was no care, no compassion, just a bemused arrogance.
Generally the look of the film was nice, scenery and the use of different locations was definitely well thought through. My only reservation was the colour, every scene was very autumnal and muted, which while it worked on occasion began to feel a bit drab and predictable after a while.
Yes, there were some very touching moments, many revolving around the journal that he keeps so that he won't forget the important stuff, overall though that doesn't help the film from feeling anything but overly long and unnecessary at times. It's a better attempt at the subject than other films I've seen but I don't think I would have the need to watch it again. Potentially it might be interesting to see the original version to see whether they actually changed anything between the versions, although it won't be something I go out of my way to do.
What you should do
This might be nice to watch at some point, but I doubt it's going to make a splash anywhere. I wouldn't rush out to try and see it.
Movie thing you wish you could take home
The ability to use a credit card for a £6,000 purchase and have it go through... although I don't think I'd want the bill afterwards.
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