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Shelia Hancock is 89 years old. When she was the true star in this movie about not giving up, as age bears down on you, she was a robust 83 years old. The movie was made in 2017 and released on Amazon in 2019. Simon Hunter directed.
Hancock plays Edie (Edith) who has finally been liberated from a loveless marriage and 30 years of caregiving to her invalid husband by his death. Her daughter discovers her diary in which she was bemoaning the travails of her caregiving duties. Her daughter was not pleased, siding with dear ol’ dad. She wants the home sold, and her mom placed in a facility for the aged.
Click. Mom has other ideas. She had had a good relationship with her father. They once committed to climb Mt. Suilven, which is 731 high, in extreme northwest Scotland. They never made it. Now she will undertake the climb, in his honor.
She has grit and determination but is both clueless about modern day camping equipment and she is not in physical shape. She unearths an old ruck sack and a kettle and stove that have to be at least half a century old. Fortuitously she is knocked down (accidentally) in the Inverness Train Station when she arrives in the Scottish Highlands by the youthful Jonny, played well by Kevin Guthrie. Jonny runs the local camping store… and one thing leads to another, including being outfitted in modern day gear. She pays him to be her guide. There is a bit, but only a bit of the “Harold and Maude” in their relationship. For sure, Jonny admires her spunk and must deal with her pig-headedness.
The Scottish Highlands are also a star, and an enjoyable backdrop to the action, with Mt. Suilven playing itself in the background. Much of the movie was filmed in the town of Lochinver.
Last year I saw a movie with a similar theme: “Redwood Highways.” Maria, played by Shirley Knight, decides to go AWOL from Sunset Home and walk a hundred miles or so, with backpack, to the Oregon coast to attend a wedding. Tom Skerritt, of “Picket Fences” fame (and much else), is Knight’s co-star. Ah, the kindness of strangers. An older woman with a backpack, walking, brings it out in a lot of people. Bravo for the heartwarming moments. And in both movies, neither woman would have made it without that vital help… and perhaps that is as life should be.
Imagine though, even though the “kindness of strangers” is heartwarming as a movie theme, if the two women depicted had been in shape, there might have been less reliance on luck and more reliance on a reliable partner. A much better theme for the ‘80’s.
As for “Edie,” I liked it a lot and recommend it and the fitness regime. 5-stars, plus.
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Mrs Monique Gotts
Inspirational film loved it
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on October 24, 2019