Most of us will enjoy the privilege of being allowed to grow old. Many of us will end our days in a care facility. That is the story of Nora Neely, who finds herself in such a facility in Dancing on the Elephant. Of the four sons she lovingly talks about, only one bothers to visit, and money is on his mind. Otherwise, it is rounds of carpet bowling, chair exercises, finger sandwiches, and medication runs.
Sheila McCarthy is Nora, with Mary Walsh playing her friend from the past, Edna, who is given to tall tales (“I worked in a circus”) to hide the traumatic secret that she has kept in her past. Amanda Brugel plays the nurse who looks after them with compassion, but also a touch of realism.
Julia Neill and Jacob Smith are co-directors in this Canadian independent film, with a screenplay by Lisa Hagan that manages to be sensitive without being maudlin. I found myself drawing parallels with Randa Haines’s film Wrestling Ernest Hemingway, which shows two elderly men behaving badly while railing against society’s expectations that activities and regimentation should be enough.
It is of particular interest to see two senior actresses given leading roles in a feature, and a female-focused one at that. There are men around, but only Kenny (Kevin Kincaid) really has a speaking role of any note. As it deals with Edna’s increasing memory loss and confusion, it could have been downbeat in tone with it manages to touch on dementia and mortality with quiet humour.
Nora and Edna face the last act of their lives with dignity, curiosity, and determination. We see flashbacks from Edna’s past in order to fully understand her, but just enough snippets to avoid overwhelming the present narrative.
I really enjoyed the performances in this. McCarthy’s quiet stoicism set against Walsh’s unfiltered frustration is a potent mix, and it feels like a situation many older people will find themselves trapped in.
Clearly aimed at senior audiences or those dealing with the reality of ageing parents, Dancing on the Elephant is an indie feature that gives older women their moment to shine, realising that sex, anger, and mischief are still part of their daily focus.
Dancing on the Elephant screens at the Cinequest Film Festival on 12 Mar and 14 Mar in its US international premiere.