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Assisted Living (2005)
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:44
Fresh:34
Rotten:10
Average Rating:6.6/10
Consensus: An unconventional, heartfelt blend of fact and fiction.
Runtime: 78 mins
Genre: Comedies
Synopsis: In this surprisingly moving film, the growing trend of assisted living facilities for the elderly is examined through a lighthearted drama. The main character is a young man named Todd (Michael... In this surprisingly moving film, the growing trend of assisted living facilities for the elderly is examined through a lighthearted drama. The main character is a young man named Todd (Michael Bonsignore) who works as an aide in such a facility. For the most part, he struggles to cope with the day-to-day challenges of the job including Alzheimer's-afflicted patients, demanding nurses, his nagging supervisor, and the sadness that is an inherent part of working with very old people nearing death. Amazingly, he finds a way to keep everybody laughing with a combination of his slackerish pot-smoking attitude, his penchant for playing practical jokes on the residents, and his generally carefree outlook on life. The friendship he forms with one resident, Mrs. Pearlman (Maggie Riley), leads him to eventually move on, however. Writer-director Elliot Greenebaum finds a truly artistic way to communicate the difficulties that face seniors in 21st century America. Repeating imagery of hands, touching conversations about the afterlife, and general empathy for each person's unique situation add valor to this sensitive film. Most of all, ASSISTED LIVING is about helping people, and trying to make the best of aging, which is rarely an easy process. [More]
Starring: Michael Bonsignore, Maggie Riley, Nancy Jo
Starring: Michael Bonsignore, Maggie Riley, Nancy Jo
Director: Elliot Greenebaum
Director: Elliot Greenebaum
Producer: Archie Borders
Screenwriter: Elliot Greenebaum
Producer: Alex Laskey, Elliot Greenebaum, Alan Oxman
Reviews for Assisted Living
This quiet, often meditative film is filled with observant, graceful touches that suggest the assured hand of a veteran filmmaker.
Todd and Mrs. Pearlman are interesting characters you want to spend time with and get to know thanks to the fine performances by Michael Bonsignore and Maggie Riley.
The easy moral to draw is that everyone needs assistance in living, but the more difficult truth is that living is illusory always.
What gives Assisted Living its power is that the film was shot in a real home for the aged, and the patients -- with the exception of Riley's Mrs. Pearlman -- are genuine.
[A] good first effort, a lyrical little movie that is filled with a relaxed Southern charm and a beautiful regard for the people – real and fictional – who inhabit it.
It’s a sensitive portrayal of a jolly, caring environment that unwittingly converts its charges into helpless infants.
Despite the often depressing nature of this film, it's absolutely pretty to look at throughout -- magnificently shot!
It's a slight movie, setting a poignant scene but not quite filling out even its running time. Still, I like its wry sense of humor and compassionate heart.
Writer/director Elliot Greenebaum perfectly captures the claustrophobic setting of these homes, so that when we finally get out for our catharsis, we want to call our grandparents or parents.
Says more about aging in America...than all the sweet but false fables Hollywood has manufactured about the elderly. It's worth seeking out.
A blend of fact and fiction that feels like a breath of fresh air in a medium that too often trivializes the hard realities of age.
Features a crackerjack performance from Michael Bonsignore as a nursing home slacker with heart.
Tedious, film-school level exercise in self-indulgence and exploitation.
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