I was really disappointed. It was so light; an after-school special look at the issues. Actual Alzheimers is so much worse, and the manipulations of the story distanced the problem: you could be a saint and your partner could still get Alzheimers. They don’t just fall in love with other people, but still regard their partners/families/etc. kindly: they will actually start to be abusive toward the people who used to be their entire lives; not just kindly “oh who are you” / a much more violent response.
Julie Christie really stole the show, but it seemed like maybe the writer was really going for the man’s story? And while there are times when it works when you shuffle time via editing (“Memento”), it’s another manipulation: it’s really easy to make the audience feel an intensity that isn’t really there.
I was also really irritated when he complained that she was wearing someone else’s sweater and the hospital administrator said “well, she looks nice in it.” We deal with nursing homes administrators all the time and I can tell you, NO nursing home administrator would ever say that, particularly not one in a high-toned place like that. They are so careful and go to great lengths to make sure people’s stuff doesn’t get confused, partly because of the pain it causes the relatives, and also just b/c of the miscellaneous theft that goes on. They sew on labels, they’re constantly policing that stuff.
Little details like that really blew the film for me.
[I liked this better than my Dad did; but I too felt that the plot manipulations were heavy-handed and obvious (and not either necessary or particularly additive to the storyline).]