“The Leisure Seeker” is a romantic comedy that takes a look of when happily ever after lasts for over 50-years for a loving couple, what happens when the couple are succumbing to their illnesses, how will this couple want to experience what may be their final enjoyable moment together? Featuring magnificent performances by Helen Mirren and Donald Sutherland, filmmaker Paolo Virzi’s “The Leisure Seeker” is recommended!
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DVD TITLE: The Leisure Seeker
YEAR OF FILM: 2017
DURATION: 112 Minutes
DVD INFORMATION: 2:39:1 Anamorphic Widescreen, English, English Audio Description Track, English, Spanish 5.1 Dolby Digital, Subtitles: English, English SDH, French
COMPANY: Sony Pictures Classics
RATED: R (Some Sexual Material)
AVAILABLE ON: July 10, 2018
Based on the Novel by Michael Zadoorian
Directed by Paolo Virzi
Screenplay by Stephen Amidon, Francesca Archibugi, Francesco Piccolo, Paolo Virzi
Produced by Marc Cohen, Fabrizio Donvito, Benedetto Habib
Co-Producer: Elisabetta Boni
Executive Producer: Cobi Benatoff, David Grumbach, Dov Mamann, Alessandro Mascheroni, Daniel Campos Pavoncelli, Mathieu Robinet, Gilles Sousa, Bryan Thomas
Music by Carlo Virzi
Cinematography by Luca Bigazzi
Edited by Jacopo Quadri
Casting by Tara Feldstein, Ellen Jacoby, Chase Paris
Production Design by Eve Stewart
Art Direction by Justin O’Neal Miller
Set Decoration by Eve Cauley
Art Direction by Tom Weaving
Costume Design by Massimo Cantini Parrini
Starring:
Helen Mirren as Ella Spencer
Donald Sutherland as John Spencer
Christian McKay as Will Spencer
Janel Moloney as Jane Spencer
Dana Ivey as Lillian
The Leisure Seeker stars Academy Award-winner® Helen Mirren and two-time Golden Globe-winner® Donald Sutherland as a runaway couple going on an unforgettable journey in the faithful old RV they call The Leisure Seeker, travelling from Boston to The Ernest Hemingway Home in Key West. They recapture their passion for life and their love for each other on a road trip that provides revelation and surprise right up to the very end.
From Italian filmmaker Paolo Virzi (“The First Beautiful Thing”, “Tutta La Vita Davanti”, “Like Crazy”) comes his first English feature-film “The Leisure Seeker”.
Based on the 2009 comedy/romance novel by Michael Zadoorian, the film received a film adaptation written by Stephen Amidon, Francesca Archibugi, Francesco Piccolo and Virzi.
“The Leisure Seeker” would star Helen Mirren (“Red”, “The Queen”, “Hitchcock”, “Gosford Park”), Donald Sutherland (“The Hunger Games” films, “Pride & Prejudice”, “Invasion of the Body Snatchers”), Christian McKay (“Me and Orson Welles”, “Rush”, “Florence Foster Jenkins”) and Janel Moloney (“The West Wing”, “The Adventures of Brisco County Jr.”).
And now the film will be released on DVD courtesy of Sony Pictures Classics.
The film revolves around Ella Spencer (portrayed by Helen Mirren) and her husband John (portrayed by Donald Sutherland) who have been together for more than 50-years. As John is suffering from an illness (possibly Alzheimer’s Disease or Dementia), the two decide to go on a road trip on the family Leisure Seeker (a vintage RV) to the chagrin of their children Will (portrayed by Christian McKay) and Janel (portrayed by Jane Spencer).
The kids don’t understand why their parents have left home, knowing their father is sick.
But for Ella, she wants to spend time with John and go on a trip from Boston to the Hemingway House in the Florida Keys, but can they still enjoy their trip despite John’s illness and what will Ella discover while on this road trip from John?
VIDEO & AUDIO:
“The Leisure Seeker” is presented in 2:39:1 anamorphic widescreen and in English and Spanish 5.1 Dolby Digital, English Audio Description Track 5.1 Dolby Digital.Picture quality is as good as one can expect on DVD and I didn’t notice any major artifacts or problems with video.
Dialogue is primarily dialogue-driven with surround channels is primarily used for ambiance. But for the most part, picture and audio quality on DVD is very good. I did wish this film was released on Blu-ray.
Subtitles are presented in English, English SDH and French.
SPECIAL FEATURES:
- In Conversation with Helen Mirren & Donald Sutherland – (26:15) Moderated by Jenelle Riley, a Q&A with Helen Mirren and Donald Sutherland.
- The Making of the Leisure Seeker – (11:14) Director Paolo Virzi, actresses Helen Mirren and Janel Moloney and actors Donald Sutherland, Christian McKay talk about the behind-the-scenes of making “The Leisure Seeker”.
- Theatrical Trailer
Having watched the “The Leisure Seeker”, I know it’s a film that some people will either enjoy or hate it as it takes a look at a loving couple for over 50-years, John is losing his memory due to an illness (possibly Alzheimer’s or Dementia) and the other, his loving wife Ella, who is having difficulty dealing with the fact that her one true love is no longer going to be the same and probably will not know who she is any longer.
The film hints that Ella is not all that well either as she is constantly throwing up and is possibly sick.
The two go on a vacation together, which ultimately will be their final trip together.
The ending has numerous people debating whether or not what happened at the end was right or wrong, but I do know this, having grandparents, one side featuring my grandfather not wanting to live and wanting to be my grandmother’s side. While the children and grandchildren were happy to have a grandfather, he was no longer the same man, broken without his lifetime partner and he was more at peace when he passed away. Knowing he wanted to be closer to my grandmother.
I also have the other side of grandparents, one succumbing to Alzheimer’s Disease and seeing how deadly and frustrating the disease would take over my grandfather, to the point that this knowledgeable man, a person who taught me so much in my life, was reduced to a memory of a child. It was one of the most painful things I had to witness and to see it get worse as the years past by was terrible.
So, watching “The Leisure Seeker”, this is a loving couple who do not want to be separated. They leave the home, they leave the kids and go on a final trip as a couple. The kids want to know where they are going, but Ella refuses to say anything.
She knows that she is very ill and she knows that her husband’s mind will be gone. How will things go for their final trip together?
While I enjoyed the film and the magnificent performances by Helen Mirren and Donald Sutherland, of course, I did question Sutherland’s character John Spencer of driving his vehicle as his illness was getting worse and knowing my grandfather having done that prior to his diagnosis of Alzheimer’s Disease, running his car through the wall of a business.
I can see why certain viewers were upset that Ella allowed her husband to drive in his condition, but of course, the film is not about a man who has Alzheimer’s and runs people over, the storyline is about a couple living their last moments together.
And as for the ending, I have read many people upset with how things ended as well. I wasn’t, because I lived and seen family who have succumbed to cancer and Alzheimer’s Disease and I couldn’t help but think that Ella and John made it known to each other that they will be together at all times and that they should never be apart. So, I understood where the ending of this film was going.
Director Paolo Virzi did a wonderful job for his first English-speaking film and I do hope to see more films released stateside in the near future.
Overall, “The Leisure Seeker” is a romantic comedy that takes a look of when happily ever after lasts for over 50-years for a loving couple, what happens when the couple are succumbing to their illnesses, how will this couple want to experience what may be their final enjoyable moment together? Featuring magnificent performances by Helen Mirren and Donald Sutherland, filmmaker Paolo Virzi’s “The Leisure Seeker” is recommended!
