Ruby's Choice

Saw US premiere screening of this Australian film at SBIFF, and was fortunate to have the opportunity to hear from the Director/Producer Michael Budd (who also had a small part in the film - look for him!), and Jane Seymour (the "Ruby").

The film provides a glimpse into daily life and the impact of Alzheimers on families, and on those experiencing dementia. Beautiful acting by three generations of strong women, with Jane Seymour as Ruby, her daughter, Sharon, played by Jacqueline McKenzie, and her granddaughter Tash, played by Coco Jack Gilles. Coco gives an exceptionally powerful performance, and we very effectively see the declining mental health of her grandmother through this teenager's eyes, coincidentally as their relationship and bond grows.

Elements of humor keep the film from being depressing, bringing appreciation and hope into the story. And it was great to hear that 50% of the profits from the film are going to the Dementia Foundation for Spark of Life, an Australian-based charity.

It's attack of the mediocre Aussie film - but this one has the right intentions, a few nice songs and locations and but a great cast but that's unfortunately where it ends. This film has very poor storytelling and lackluster execution in directing. The film is an easy watch, but at the core its BASIC - it really doesn't evoke much heart, you feel sorry for Ruby at some moments but you DONT really feel her journey. The film suffers from many different problems, one being that it didn't have the correct structure, it didn't know which direction it was going in. The film played it very safe and didn't go all the way exploring dementia at its fullest. There are some strange scene jumps and strange awkward editing that leave you confused. There is a huge lack of music which could have helped drive the bad writing and also some very cringy moments - usually around teens doing things that are odd and unnatural. It suffers from repeating tropes from other films instead of trying to create its own originality. I mean you can see from the lack of love for the trailer and especially the amateurish poster that this was going to be a basic film, the poster says it all. Adding to that was the very basic cinematography, the lack of lighting correctly and over lighting most scenes was a shock especially when they somehow convinced Jane Seymour to appear in this film. There was nothing visually aesthetic about the look of the film and it looks like a student possibly color graded the film. I really wanted to like even love this film, but it didn't land at all, and I have seen the director's horror film - which they reference in the film as being a great film and that is a horrible film - which I will also review after giving it a second watch. Overall, a basic easy film to watch, shot nicely but basically, stellar acting by Jacquelline McKenzie and Jane Seymour and most of the cast. Misses the mark by a longshot because it doesn't pull on any emotions and it just didn't connect.

This is a wonderful movie, with great portrayls of the exceptionally well crafted characters by the entire cast and especially Jane Seymour in the role of Ruby.

The storyline is so well woven and is a topic which touches so many. It is thoughtfully and lovingly delivered so as to give a real sense of the effect dementia can have on an extended family. Its humour is brilliantly delivered from Rubys treatment of scam callers, to how she drops honesty bombs on Doug.

I'd absolutely recommend this film to anyone.

A moving well-written film with great performances from the cast. The dialogue is smart with some of the most authentic Aussie characters I have seen on the screen. The touches of humour strike just the right tone.

Ruby (Jane Seymour) lives alone and is struggling with dementia. Her husband died 5 years ago, but she keeps expecting him to come home. She hasn't kept up with the bills and she almost burns down the house. She is forced to move in with her daughter Sharon (Jacqueline McKenzie). Sharon's husband Doug (Stephen Hunter) fears for his job and their daughter Tash (Coco Jack Gillies) is frustrated to share her room with her grandmother. It doesn't help that her uncle and angry cousin Jack (Sam Rechner) have moved into the crowded home. At school, Jack either ignores Tash or downright bullies her.

This is effective family drama dealing with an aging elder. The actors are great led by veteran Jane Seymour doing some dementia acting. Sometimes, people do too much, but she does fine. If I would make one change, I would eliminate the Pirates from the story. There is just a little too much stuff in the two hours long movie. The climatic scene with the Pirates bullying kinda comes out of nowhere. That scene would work better with Jack's friends. Jack could come in later and deal with the situation. That seems more fitting.