The Leisure Seeker
Oscar-winner Helen Mirren and two-time Golden Globe winner Donald Sutherland star in this road trip drama from the director of Like Crazy.
An elderly couple - the husband stricken with Alzheimer's, the wife acutely aware - take a final road trip along Route 66 to Disneyland in their faithful old RV they call The Leisure Seeker.
- Director:
- Paolo Virzì ('Like Crazy', 'Human Capital', 'The First Beautiful Thing')
- Writer:
- Stephen AmidonFrancesca ArchibugiPaolo VirzìFrancesco Piccolo
- Cast:
- Helen MirrenDonald SutherlandKirsty MitchellChristian McKayRobert PralgoChelle RamosMarc Fajardo
Reviews & comments
Flicks, Adam Fresco
flicks‘The Leisure Seeker’ is an old campervan in which Ella (Helen Mirren) and her husband John, a retired English professor (Donald Sutherland), drive from Boston to Key West on a pilgrimage to visit Ernest Hemingway’s house. John has Alzheimer’s. Ella has cancer. Yup, all the ingredients for a morbidly sentimental old folks’ road trip, but with two fine actors firing on all cylinders the result is a contrived exercise in sentimental heartstring-tugging, saved by excellent performances and just enough good humour to keep things bearable.
Why so subtle? It was murder.
This starts out as an interesting film with some good acting by the two main stars - Donald and Helen. Most believable. I think it was a bucket list ride with an out clause. It portrayed the dementia process well except for Donald driving. Never really explained despite his frequent memory loss how he was able to remember to drive. There was some poignant...
Variety
pressNot even two actors as talented as Helen Mirren and Donald Sutherland can save this dreadfully predictable Alzheimer's road movie.
Time Out
pressThere are quieter moments during which the glances between Sutherland and Mirren - containing memories better left unvoiced - suggest something worthier than the dreck they're trapped in.
The Guardian
pressThe Leisure Seeker isn't the sort of picture to start meddling with ... formula, but it sets about its business with a satisfying efficiency.
Screen Daily
pressCluttered with clichés and stalled in softness, pot-holed by its self-serving use of Alzheimer's as a narrative convenience.
Los Angeles Times
pressA soggy East Coast road trip saga in which Helen Mirren and Donald Sutherland valiantly pretend that rogue treatment of debilitating illnesses has its funny/endearing side.
Hollywood Reporter
pressA road movie short on comedy and drama should at least offer a keen level of observation, but here insight is scarce and emotional resonance is faint.
Flicks, Adam Fresco
flicks‘The Leisure Seeker’ is an old campervan in which Ella (Helen Mirren) and her husband John, a retired English professor (Donald Sutherland), drive from Boston to Key West on a pilgrimage to visit Ernest Hemingway’s house. John has Alzheimer’s. Ella has cancer. Yup, all the ingredients for a morbidly sentimental old folks’ road trip, but with two fine actors firing on all cylinders the result is a contrived exercise in sentimental heartstring-tugging, saved by excellent performances and just enough good humour to keep things bearable.
Variety
pressNot even two actors as talented as Helen Mirren and Donald Sutherland can save this dreadfully predictable Alzheimer's road movie.
Time Out
pressThere are quieter moments during which the glances between Sutherland and Mirren - containing memories better left unvoiced - suggest something worthier than the dreck they're trapped in.
The Guardian
pressThe Leisure Seeker isn't the sort of picture to start meddling with ... formula, but it sets about its business with a satisfying efficiency.
Screen Daily
pressCluttered with clichés and stalled in softness, pot-holed by its self-serving use of Alzheimer's as a narrative convenience.
Los Angeles Times
pressA soggy East Coast road trip saga in which Helen Mirren and Donald Sutherland valiantly pretend that rogue treatment of debilitating illnesses has its funny/endearing side.
Hollywood Reporter
pressA road movie short on comedy and drama should at least offer a keen level of observation, but here insight is scarce and emotional resonance is faint.
Why so subtle? It was murder.
This starts out as an interesting film with some good acting by the two main stars - Donald and Helen. Most believable. I think it was a bucket list ride with an out clause. It portrayed the dementia process well except for Donald driving. Never really explained despite his frequent memory loss how he was able to remember to drive. There was some poignant...
Share