#TIFF18: “WHAT THEY HAD” REVIEW

Review by George Kozera for Mr. Will Wong

As someone who has personally experienced the insidiousness of Alzheimer’s Disease, WHAT THEY HAD is one of the few movies that features the day to day horrors one is subjected to. When Ruth (a terrific, yet underutilized Blythe Danner) is found in the hospital after wandering the streets of Chicago on a snowy winter night clad only in her nightgown, her son Nick (Michael Shannon, exceptional as always) calls his sister in California, Bridget (Hilary Swank, wonderfully-vulnerable yet strong) to fly in to discuss putting their mother in a treatment home much to the objections of their father Burt (Robert Forester in an awards worthy performance).

Occasionally laced with much needed humour, WHAT THEY HAD is a compelling study of the disease and the family dynamics. My issue with the Movie is that there are way too many conflicts that this family deals with, with flashbacks to boot. That aside, this is a must-see.

WHAT THEY HAD screens Wednesday, September 12th, 6:30PM, Roy Thomson Hall and Wednesday, September 12th, 8:00PM, Elgin Theatre