The Leisure Seeker

Canadian acting legend Donald Sutherland and Academy Award winner Helen Mirren star in this wise and witty road movie set in today's divided United States. The English-language debut of Italian director Paolo Virzì (Like Crazy), The Leisure Seeker takes an entire country as its canvas and a couple of aging adventurers as its lovable heroes.

Ella (Mirren) is dying of cancer. John (Sutherland) is suffering from Alzheimer's disease. Neither is interested in quietly fading away surrounded by nurses and machines just to needlessly prolong a winnowing life. With the end of the road in sight, Ella opts to tune up their vintage RV and hit the highway, travelling from Boston to Florida with John behind the wheel. He may not always be cognizant of the nature of their trip — she assures him it's just a vacation — but he gets into the spirit. As they pass through cities and towns they see how much the world they know has changed for ill or for good. And they try to leave it on a graceful note.

Based on the novel by Michael Zadoorian, The Leisure Seeker is a pleasure giver. Despite the sombre rationale behind Ella and John's journey, the film brims with humour, affection, observation, and more than a little satire.