Familiar Touch

Age-related memory loss can be a harrowing, debilitating experience not only for the individuals suffering from it, but also for their families, friends and associates. And, in this superb new release, such is the fate faced by 88-year-old Ruth Goldman (expertly portrayed by Kathleen Chalfant), a remarkably spry, intelligent, creative and physically active woman who appears to be on top of things except when it comes to her fading memory. She has moments when she seems perfectly lucid, as well as a reasonably good grasp of her long-term recall, but her short-term recollection has been failing fast, reaching the point where she doesn’t even recognize her son Steve (H. Jon Benjamin) as her own child. These faltering conditions have thus necessitated a change: Since she’s increasingly incapable of taking proper care of herself at home, Ruth is being relocated to a long-term care facility for the memory-impaired. It’s a transition that takes her by surprise despite the fact that she and Steve had toured the home previously and decided that this is where she should go when she’s no longer fit to attend to her own needs. Writer-director Sarah Friedland’s second feature outing thus proceeds to follow Ruth’s experiences in her new residence, including her diverse interactions with her primary caregiver, Vanessa (Carolyn Michelle), her resident physician, Brian (Andy McQueen), the jovial and accommodating dining room chef (Mike G.), and other facility residents, such as the perky and vivacious Pearl (Joahn Webb). This deftly crafted character study examines the various states of mind that the memory-impaired can go through, as well as the array of reactions that they experience in coming to terms with their circumstances. In telling Ruth’s story, the filmmaker expertly shows, rather than tells, viewers what the protagonist is undergoing, driving home the impact of what this heartbreaking condition can yield. At the same time, though, the picture also celebrates all of the li...