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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
Sensitively considers the potential for liberation of the mind from the shackles of the aging body, no matter how deteriorated that physical human essence might be.
There is a certain meditative grace to the cinematography here, but after a while, well, I was just plain bored.
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.
There is a tender, poignant story in here... worthy of a great 20-minute short, not enough to fill writer-director Elliot Greenebaum's rambling mock-documentary.
Has a few enlightening moments but has just as many that are tedious.
Watching the movie is like conducting a conversation with a loved one stricken by Alzheimer's: It's at once moving and maddening.
The whimsy Greenebaum wants to construct can't match the terminal sadness that naturally takes over the film.
Becomes an affecting story about the bond that develops between shiftless Todd and Mrs. Pearlman.
Assisted Living is a remarkably moving look at the prisons in our midst that most of us manage to ignore until we need them.
Maggie Riley, a former circus performer who suffered two strokes and a heart attack during the filming of this movie, is a revelation in this role [Mrs. Pearlman].
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.
Authentically unconventional -- opening in the form of an almost convincing mock documentary -- but it gradually evolves into something more deeply affecting.
It’s a sensitive portrayal of a jolly, caring environment that unwittingly converts its charges into helpless infants.
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