The Leisure Seeker

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This film's drama operates on two levels: the psychological and the political. The more obvious, the psychological, depicts the mental and physical deterioration of the principle couple, John and Ella respectively. The emotional wallop comes from the pathos, realism and nuance especially in John's dementia, as he slips in and out of memory and awareness. Ella subordinates her terminal illness to holding him together on their valedictory trip. As he excavates his own past his suspicion of Ella's ostensible infidelity gives way to his unwitting exposure of his own. The couple shift through a series of fleeting harmonies and tensions before peacefully ending together. As Ella told her daughter, "It's just something I really need to do with your father." The audience of their contemporaries can take some solace from noting that unlike their diminishing characters, Helen Mirren and Donald Sutherland are still working and delivering marvellous performances. They don't act their characters' age. Through all of John's and Ella's miseries, perhaps the saddest figure is Lilian, their neighbour, with whom John had a fling during Ella's pregnancy. In the God's eye view of the couple's funeral, Lilian walks away alone, the challenger to the couple's bliss who failed to come between them. But the drama has a parallel dimension, that reflects beyond the characters to the current United States. The film is so pervasively American that it's easy to miss the fact that it has an Italian director and European producers. This is a European vision of America. Here the dementia afflicts not just John but America. Like John, America has forgotten the values and character that made it great - specifically in the 1960s. In Trump's election and in his presidency America has forgotten itself. Hence the 60s soundtrack of political and head lyrics. The film opens on one Trump rally. At a later one John loses himself, forgets he's a lifelong Democrat and dons a Trump/Pence pin. Of course Trump's "great" America is that which the 60s revolution replaced, with its exercise of freedoms, its assault on racism and sexual bigotry and its rejection of traditional politics. Indeed the couple's transport of delight is "The Leisure Seeker," another echo of the spirit and freedom of the Woodstock days. Hence the crucial casting of Donald Sutherland as the old intellectual hipster who is losing his grip on himself and on reality. The Canadian actor became an icon of the 60s American cultural revolution with films like Joanna, MASH, Start the Revolution Without Me, Alex in Wonderland, Steelyard Blues, Gas and Don't Look Now. His work with Bertolucci and Felljni emblematized the European revolution as well. Helen Mirren reverses that movement. She buries her British persona in her Georgia belle, equally parallelling Vivien Leigh's ascent in Gone with the Wind and the Beatles' and Carnaby Street's cultural conquest of America. The other crucial casting is of Dick Gregory, the comedian/writer leader of the African American revolution of the day, as Ella's crochety, invalid ex-boyfriend. He doesn't remember her, their affair, his past life, but he remains properly enraged at America's resurgent racism and the intrusion of his forgotten past. The two young diner waitresses provide a related contrast. The white waitress is uneducated, has memorized her lines in service and politely tolerates John's lecture on the poetry of Hemingway's prose. The Florida waitress is prettier, more poised, and she fills in John's forgotten Hemingway quote, She did an honours paper on him. But she's African American so despite her education, wit and poise, she's still a waitress.

This movie was long and drawn out and just terrible. The fact that they were hell bent on going on this trip was pure foolishness, and someone with dimentia to that degree would not be able to even drive, let alone drive a vehicle of that size. And Helen's character was constantly upset and didnt enjoy one second of the trip. It was upsetting to watch, and even more upsetting was the way it ended, I was just sick and shocked over it. No thanks, we dont want this for our seniors in America! It was disgusting! I'm sorry I even saw this movie.

I see reviewers on here badmouthing this or that about the movie. Let's look at it as a separate entity, and review it for what it is! First, it's an emotional roller-coaster. some parts are funny, some parts are downright tragic. But if you have had friends, parents relatives or even yourself getting closer to 'the end' you can feel for these characters. The kids have a minor support role, if only to show this couple is not alone. the neighbor has even a lesser role, but her involvement in the plotline is one of the main turning points. SPOILER ALERT: This isn't really a 'feel good' movie. The ending is impactful, bit it makes one realize that life is fleeting. the juxtaposition of the visit to Hemmingway's house is interesting, whereas Ella thinks it' overcommercialized and should be practibly a 'shrine', John sees it as a celebration, a party of Hemmingway's existance. Look, I'm not a paid critic. I like what I like. in some parts, this movie was hard to watch. But I feel I'm a better person for seeing it. Yes, it's that good.

"The Leisure Seeker" (R, 1:52) is a 2017 comedy-drama directed by Paolo Virzì (helming his first English-language feature film) and based on the 2009 novel of the same name by American novelist and short story writer Michael Zadoorian. The film follows an elderly married couple on a road trip in their 1975 Winnebago from their home in Massachusetts to Key West, one last big vacation, planned by Ella Spencer (Oscar winner Dame Helen Mirren) so her husband, John (2-time Golden Globe winner and honorary Oscar recipient Donald Sutherland), can finally visit the home of his idol, Ernest Hemingway. The couple's adult children, Will (BAFTA nominee Christian McKay) and Jane (Janel Moloney, a TV veteran, best known for "The West Wing"), come close to panic when they realize their parents have left home in that old RV of the film's title. Not only are Ella and John old, but Ella is in treatment for an unspecified illness and John, who does all the driving, has unspecified memory issues. Ella sometimes calls to check in and even answers her children's cell phone calls on occasion, but only to reassure them that the couple is alright - not to reveal their location or destination - or to be talked out of anything. While Will and Jane stew (especially the high-strung Will) and argue, Ella and John have the vacation of a lifetime. Along the way, they meet people to whom they talk at length (Ella about her family and John about Hemingway), strengthen their bonds with each other, relive old memories (partly to reminisce and partly to help John hold on to those memories) and they struggle with the effects of their respective illnesses. There's also a subplot in which John repeatedly accuses Ella of wanting to go to Florida to reconnect with her boyfriend from 50 years ago. However, none of this takes their focus off the goal of reaching Key West - allowing questions about past relationships and current situations to be answered. "The Leisure Seeker" takes Movie Fans on a charming, but uncomfortable trip. Mirren and Sutherland make for an adorable couple (especially Mirren, doing well with a South Carolina accent), but it's more uncomfortable than entertaining to watch Ella and John suffer (especially when Ella alternates between being sympathetic to John and acting like she doesn't understand what's going on) and also struggle to come to terms with their mortality. The pleasure in watching these two fine actors create and develop these likeable characters is more than outweighed by lazy writing & plotting and uneven directing. "C+"

"The Leisure Seeker" (2017 release; 112 min.) brings the story of John and Ella Spencer. As the movie opens, we are told it is "Wellesley, MA, August 29, 2016", when (grown-up) son Will finds out that his elderly parents have taken off with their 1975 Winnebago van, even tough John suffers from early dementia, and Ella isn't doing great either. John and Ella want to do one more road trip, all the way down to Key West to visit Ernest Hemingway's house, a long-held dream by John. It's not long before John and Ella encounter problems, while enjoying their road trip. At this point we are 10 min. into the movie, but to tell you more of the plot would spoil your viewing experience, you'll just have to see for yourself how it all plays out. Couple of comments: this is the latest movie from Italian writer-director Paulo Rirzi, who previously brought us "Human Capital" and "Like Crazy". Here, in his first all-English language movie, he brings the 2008 best-selling book of the same name by Michael Zadoorian to the big screen. It stars Donald Sutherland (as John) and Hellen Mirren (as Ella), reunited in firm for the first time since 1990's "Bethune: The Making of a Hero". Let's be clear: both Sutherland and Mirren are wonderful, reminding me of Henry Fonda and Katharine Hepburn's tour de force in 1981's "On Golden Pond". In particular Mirren is fabulous as the caring wife having to deal with her husband's early dementia. But the movie is quite predictable (about halfway through I predicted the movie's end, and I was right). Even worse, the movie makers felt it necessary to spike the setting with not one, but several Donald Trump 2016 presidential campaign rallies (and making their personal views clear along the way). I mean, the book came out in 2008, so in essence the movie makers made this up, for no good reason at all (it doesn't advance the plot in any way). I'm no Trump fan myself, but there is a time and place for everything, and this is simply irritating and annoying. In the end, just enjoy this movie for Sutherland and Mirren. Mirren scored a Best Actress Golden Globe nomination for this, and I can't argue with that. "The Leisure Seeker" premiered at last year's Venice Film Festival., and now is getting a limited US theater release. The Saturday early evening screening where I saw this at was attended quite nicely (and mostly by seniors I might add). Given the surprisingly subdued marketing campaign for this movie, I can't see this playing in theaters very long. If you are in the mood for a ho-hum movie dealing with early dementia and old age in general, with excellent performances from Donald Sutherland and Helen Mirren, I'd recommend you check this out, be it in the theater, on VOD or eventually on DVD/Blu-ray, and draw your own conclusion.

The book presents an honest view of life today in USA. Recommended book to a number of acquaintances and looked forward to movie, particularly with casting of two leads. Then discovered complete change of characters, lifestyle, and trip. Cannot recommend movie as it has nothing to do with book and message.