Grandma (2015)

Grandma is the latest directorial effort from director Paul Weitz and stars Lily Tomilin and Julia Garner.  The film centers around Elle (Tomlin) who is a complete car crash of a human being because she lost the love of her life recently and inconceivably bitter about the loss of her partner.  The process of grieving and moving forward is something Elle puts all of her energy toward but as a result of the loss she experienced she’s cruel and dismissive to anyone who crosses her path.  Elle’s angry bitter lifestyle is interrupted by the arrival of her 18-year-old granddaughter Sage (Garner).  Sage explains she is pregnant and needs money for an abortion.  Elle is a doting grandmother and her cruel nature is washed away briefly in aid of finding Sage the money she needs to abort her baby.  The journey to get enough money for Sage’s operation causes Elle to cross path with individuals from her life before and during her time as a once celebrated author and scholar.

The connective tissue of this film is the lead performance by Lily Tomlin.  Tomlin injects so much dry wit and directness in her portrayal that no matter who she comes across you’re waiting for how Elle will handle the interaction.  What is unique about this movie is that most conversations in this film feel like they have a double meaning as if saying something underneath ones’ breath and it exposes an emotional raw piece of who that person is at their core.  This aspect of the film holds true on two hugely significant occasions.  The first occasion involves a man named Karl (Sam Elliott) who has a unique surprisingly poignant connection to Elle and the way these two performers interact you know there’s history with pain behind it.  How they talk awkwardly about what the other person is like and in other ways judge each other cryptically about how the other person chose to live their life is fascinating and intensely gripping.  The real gut punch of the film comes from Elle and Karl’s interaction and it is heart stopping.

The core of this movie is the idea that no matter how bad things get in life family is everything.  The ideal is exemplified best toward the film’s natural effortlessly paced conclusion.  Elle and Sage come face to face with Sage’s mother and their interaction is the piece of the puzzle where the whole journey comes together.  You begin to see what parts of Elle rubbed off on her daughter and how Sage fears her mother and it’s just this uniquely beautiful circle of that particular family’s behavioral legacy.  All three women have experienced regret, pain and sacrifice and what is particularly beautiful is that it is hinted that these women have caused some of those feelings because of their behavior toward each other.

Overall Grandma is a superb look inside a particularly stressed family dynamic.  The film provides rich storytelling in a compact timeframe with characters the audience only grows to appreciate over time thematic similar to the way many individuals process what makes their own families so strong.  I recommend it to anyone who enjoys a good drama with wit.