Elizabeth Chomko's family/dementia drama, WHAT THEY HAD, finally opens in South Florida

The critical verdict on WHAT THEY HAD, the new film (her first) written and directed by actress Elizabeth Chomko, seems to be that it is very well-acted (it is indeed) but otherwise fairly forgettable. Some critics have also declared that it is all about an older woman, Ruth (played by Blythe Danner), descending into dementia. Wrong. The character is clearly already demented, even as the film begins. The movie's real theme is how the family members surrounding Ruth deal with her dilemma, as well as why they choose to do this. Or not.

All this makes the movie more complicated than you might initially expect, and Ms Chomko (pictured at left) provides enough decent dialog and varied situations to give her characters the opportunity to unveil themselves in relatively believable fashion, even as we audience members begin to understand them more fully.

Chomko's ace-in-the-hole is her very smartly chosen cast, each one of whom turns in an excellent performance. As the older generation, Ms Danner (below, left) and Robert Forster (below, right) as her husband, Burt, offer up some beautifully layered work: she moving easily between a demented state and some brief times that approach normalcy, he as the loving but hugely stubborn caretaker who refuses to admit the need for further help.

The younger generations are shown via Ruth's daughter (Hillary Swank, below, left) and grand-daughter (Taissa Farmiga, below, right), both of whom have their own rather typical but also highly detailed and believable way of dealing with the situation.

Best of all perhaps is that terrific actor Michael Shannon (shown below, second from left), playing Ruth's and Burt's son, Nick, who grows increasingly freaked out by the nighttime wanderings of his mother, particularly after she, in one of her "elsewhere" moments, has made a sexual advance toward him.

During the course of this 101-minute movie, the family's history spills slowly out, with perhaps a little too much exposition, though not a deal-breaking amount, and some welcome humor generated along the way. Parents and children have their defining moments and a certain amount of "closure" is reached. What They Had may not be groundbreaking in any way, but the situation it deals with head-on is one that many of us will have to face -- first as caretaker and finally, perhaps, as patient. Ms Chomko's film proves a decent addition to the growing sub-genre of aging-parent-with-Alzheimer's.

From Bleecker Street, the movie -- after opening last month in major cities -- hits South Florida this Friday, November 9. Look for it in the Miami area at MDC's Tower Theater, in Boca Raton at the Living Room Theater, and at the Movies of Delray and the Movies of Lake Worth.  Wherever you live around the country, to find the theaters nearest you, simply click here -- and scroll down.

SCN: Old-age gets the animated treatment in Ignacio Ferreras' moving WRINKLES

WRINKLES, a new Spanish animated movie that makes its debut at Spanish Cinema Now today, Sunday, December 16, at 2pm, is based on a prize-winning graphic novel by Paco Roca, about a retired bank executive whose Alzheimer's becomes too much for his son's family to handle, and so he is shipped off to a nursing facility. Yes, this is not your everyday, kid-friendly animation tale. (Together with Consuming Spirits, which just opened this week, these two films may constitute, not a trend -- that would take three -- but at least an alternative.)

As directed by Ignacio Ferreras, shown at left, the movie has a simply terrific beginning -- taking place in a bank as a loan is being negotiated -- which then pulls you up short. The animation here is simple, old-fashioned and easy to watch, if not particularly distinguished in any way. There are some cute, funny, sweet touches every so often that keep you alert, but what pulls you in and holds you are the subject, the story and the characters of the residents of this home, brought to relatively specific and pretty sorrowful life by Roca, Ferrares and the animation and writing teams.

The ex-banker, above, to whom his roommate refers as "Rocke-feller," is proper, kindly and losing it slowly, while the roommate (below) is a "main chance" kind of guy who thinks nothing of conning the other residents out of their money ("They won't remember" is his excuse) but still takes good care of his new friend.

There is also the totally out-of-it Modesto, and his wife -- who still loves him above all else and cares for him as though he is still fully conscious -- and another, very proper old woman, who when the pair make a break for it, shown below, decides to join them.

There are a few more people of interest, and a staff who are generally portrayed as being as caring and kindly as possible -- without, it is clear, having much idea what these old folk might be experiencing and/or feeling about it all.

There are some lovely and moving moments (above and below) when the present gives way to memory and the past, and although the movie is sentimental, it does not shy away from nor try to disguise the darkness at the center of this situation. It does offer that roommate the chance to redeem himself, which he takes -- which may not be believable but gives the ending an "up" note.

And so, if you find, as did I, a tear or two falling as you watch, well, you're entitled. Wrinkles takes on the children who place their parents into an environment like this. It not judgmental: Caring for an Alzheimer's patient is no easy task but, then, neither is a group-home environment an easy place to be consigned to.

Wrinkles may just be getting a U.S. release, for I noted in the SCN program a thank you to GKIDS for allowing this screening. I hope so, for the movie certainly has significance worldwide. It plays at SCN once only: today, Sunday, December 16, at 2pm at the Walter Reade. Click here for tickets.