Away from Her , as directed by Sarah Polley is a cinematic adaptation of Alice Munro’s short story The Bear Came Over the Mountain . Released around 2007, the cinematic adaptation narrates how the protagonists navigate the phenomenon of aging; in both personal and relational contexts. Both versions concentrate on how individuals handle life-long commitments and how they might vindicate their failures in meeting mentioned vows. However, the cinematic version presents differences in plot, structure, character, and point of view, mostly due to the nature of its narration medium. Therefore, despite the cinematic modifications, Away from Her maintains the standards established by The Bear Came Over the Mountain .
Grant and Fiona, the protagonists, have been married for more than 45 years, and their story starts with a scene depicting a younger and more spirited form of the wife proposing to Grant (Munro, 2013). Then, the next scene has the now elderly Fiona preparing for entry into Meadowlake, an assisted living facility. This seemingly unprecedented development follows gradual increase of memory loss on Fiona’s part, a realization that informs the need for the mentioned facility. However, during her first 30 days in the facility, Grant is not allowed visits, during which, she forgets her marriage and becomes strongly attached to Aubrey, another resident at the facility (Munro, 2013).
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Aubrey’s stay at the facility is temporary, for after concluding her holiday, his wife takes him home with her. A situation which devastates Fiona and by extension Grant. Though the nurses try to assure Grant that his wife will soon forget Aubrey, Fiona continues to grieve for Aubrey while her condition also deteriorates more (Munro, 2013). Consequently, Grant traces Aubrey’s wife, Marian, and attempts to convince her to permanently relocate her husband back to Meadowlake. Initially, Marian rejects the proposal for she would have to sell their home to afford it. Yet, toward the story’s end and presumably out of a romantic relationship with Grant, she agrees to it. This allows Grant to reunite Fiona with Aubrey. But, this development finds Fiona able to recall her affection for her husband and unable to remember Aubrey. Generally, this plot summary contains major developments in both versions (Munro, 2013). Though given the different narrative media deployed there are some differences.
The plot presents the first point difference between the two versions. Munro’s introduction has a scene depicting a younger and healthier Fiona, whimsical enough to propose marriage to Grant on a wind-swept beach (Munro, 2013). On the other hand, Polley’s first portrayal of Fiona entails the character putting a frying pan into the refrigerator (Weiss & Polley, 2007). Noticeably, both employ the use of nonlinear chronology in their respective works to convey thematic elements of reconciling with the process of aging and matrimonial failures. Markedly, the films director references the story’s opening scene but with obviously less detail, the object of highlighting the kind of relationship the protagonists shared in a less tumultuous phase of their union (Weiss & Polley, 2007).
Away from Her provides memories of Fiona hiking, stressing her vivacious nature along with her appreciation of beauty (Weiss & Polley, 2007). This is exemplified by her love of flowers, which both Polley and Munro respectively use for symbolic purposes (Weiss & Polley, 2007: Munro, 2013). In both cases, flowers represent change in the form of new beginnings. For example, Grant presents Marian with flowers in their greeting. Another example has Fiona observing lilacs through a window. Critically, the film’s starting point is at the end of the story and narrates backwards while the short story starts with Fiona’s wedding proposal (Weiss & Polley, 2007). The suggestion here is that the difference in narration sequences is intentionally geared towards creating confusion and tension in the audience. A point of similarity again comes in the manner both versions end, that is, Fiona finally realizes that Grant is her husband, the one who never left, no matter what (Weiss & Polley, 2007: Munro, 2013).
In the same way, both the author and director vary in their choice of points of view. Specifically, Munro adopts a limited omniscient approach to narration as she presents a narrator who is aware of Grant’s thoughts and memories (Munro, 2013). Her narrative follows Grant and his thought process as he observes, from an external viewpoint, his wife’s transformation. A development that has him increasingly distraught. On the contrary, Polley’s choice demonstrates a more general yet omniscient narration approach. Accordingly, the audience is aware of Grant’s thoughts while the filming adopts both his point of view and Fiona’s memories (Weiss & Polley, 2007). This latter part is particularly prominent during the flashbacks where Fiona narrates most of the dialogue.
There are different techniques on display in the portrayal of the tone between the cinematic film and the short story. Specifically, Munro deploys metaphors and word choice to this end. For example, she compares the thawing of winter snow to changes in the wellbeing of the protagonist. Again, ‘an intense, a truly malignant dislike’ creates a tense and stressed tone (Munro, 2013). Likewise, Polley strategically employs serious background music to parallel tense moments as physical appearances create descriptions and the dialogue illuminates’ character sentiments (Weiss & Polley, 2007).
Characterization, arguably, presents the most significant difference between The Bear Came Over the Hills and Away from Her (Weiss & Polley, 2007: Munro, 2013). Munro’s version of Grant is markedly different from the one in the film. She observes that, ‘It was possible for Grant to have one of his brief and friendly and maddening conversations with his wife’ (Munro, 2013). Here, the man is portrayed as a husband who was capable of love but was also cranky and livid. On the other hand, Polley’s characterization of Grant is one of generosity, compassion, dedication, and affection (Weiss & Polley, 2007). Notably, the cinematic version made daily visits to Meadowlake while the story version is allowed only two visits per week. Equally notable is the fact that both versions of Grant’s character are overcome with regret and guilt for their prior misdeeds. His wife is, on the other hand, portrayed as a woman of strength and sharp wit. However, as the short story develops, Fiona apparently losses this strength (Weiss & Polley, 2007: Munro, 2013). A phenomenon captured in the film by the physical deterioration of the protagonist as she gradually becomes untidy.
Still on notable characterization differences, Kirsty’s character in the motion picture is more advanced than her short story contemporary (Weiss & Polley, 2007: Munro, 2013). Polley uses this character to provide Grant with information on Fiona’s condition as well as strength and guidance. The latter elements are not available in the short story. Critically, she provides a key point in plot development for Grant accepts Fiona’s new union with Aubrey after Kirsty speaks implacably on his marital failures; his affairs (Weiss & Polley, 2007: Munro, 2013).
Away from Her is a successful cinematic adaptation of the short story The Bear Came Over the Mountain. Critically, the motion picture highlights how people address life-long commitments and the failures they encounter as they try to uphold their vows. Moreover, both versions also illuminate effects of the phenomenon of aging at both individual and relational levels. It could also be argued that both versions address the importance of embracing and appreciating partners for their continued availability remains unknown. Importantly, the thematic elements might find relevance in addressing the prevalence of infidelity. As previously stated, the major differences between the short story and the motion picture are occasioned by their different media and this is underscored by the similarity in their thematic elements.
References
Munro, A. (2013). The Bear Came Over the Mountain. The New Yorker. Retrieved from https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2013/10/21/the-bear-came-over-the-mountain-2 . Retrieved on May 8, 2018.
Weiss, J. (Producer), & Polley, S. (Director). (2007). Away from Her . Canada: Pulling Focus Pictures.
