One of the best films of the year. A master work.
Ruth, an elegant woman in her 80s, is preparing food in her sunny kitchen. Expertly putting together a simple lunch, including herbs freshly picked from her window-sill, it is obvious this woman has been a professional cook. She serves the lunch to a handsome middle-aged man. While they eat, she begins to flirt with him ever so slightly. The man is going to take her for a drive after lunch, and she becomes coyly excited when she sees that he’s packed a suitcase. Is he whisking her away for a romantic weekend?
Ruth has the beginnings of dementia. The handsome man is her son. And he is taking her to live in an aged-care facility.
This is the beautiful, and devastating, opening scene of Familiar Touch, the first feature by director-writer Sarah Friedland.
Exploring Ruth’s early days in the facility, Familiar Touch does not fall into any of the tropes we have come to expect from “elderly woman” narratives. We live through Ruth’s experiences and emotions; through her sensuality and sexuality, all of which are still strongly present, although her cognitive functioning is becoming impaired.
Filmed in an actual assisted-living facility, with many of the cast and crew being residents of the home, this is a feature which walks its message, and doesn’t just talk it. At the centre is the extraordinary performance of Kathleen Chalfant, probably best known in Australia for her role in The Affair. In the small but vital role of her son Steve is H. Jon Benjamin, a name known to most of us for his brilliant voice work on Archer and Bob’s Burgers. He is also a fine dramatic actor, and brings everything to this exquisite performance.
Friedland has directed with a firm but flexible hand, and has had the courage to give space to both cast and audience. Nobody is rushing. This is the time to take in the small but wonderful elements that make up a life.
Already an award-winner, Familiar Touch is a love letter to older women, an excoriation of ageism, and a battle cry for dignity and humanity. It is also a moving, wryly humorous, and evocative masterpiece of cinema.
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