Victoria Clark and Sally Kirkland play a mother and daughter dealing with dementia in ARCHAEOLOGY OF A WOMAN
ARCHAEOLOGY OF A WOMAN (Sharon Greytak, 2013)
Village East Cinemas
181-189 Second Ave. at 12th St.
September 12-18
212-529-6799
www.facebook.com/archaeologyofawoman
www.villageeastcinema.com
Inspired by her mother’s aging and another family member’s struggle with Alzheimer’s disease, Sharon Greytak’s Archaeology of a Woman examines the complex relationship between Kate (Tony winner Victoria Clark), a New York City chef, and her mother, Margaret (Oscar nominee Sally Kirkland), a fiercely independent woman who is suffering the beginning stages of dementia. As the film opens, Margaret cannot find her car in a parking lot and reaches out to the police for help. Disoriented, she calls Kate, who is in the midst of passionate sex with her boyfriend (Alex Emanuel). Soon Kate is shuttling back and forth on Metro-North between Manhattan and her mother’s suburban home as Margaret continues having episodes that often turn destructive, to both herself and others. Although she keeps getting more and more forgetful and unsettled, one memory keeps haunting her, something that happened thirty years before and has risen up again to threaten her. Kirkland (Anna, Cold Feet) does all she can with the juicy role, baring her heart and soul — and septuagenarian body — but Greytak’s choppy direction and hole-filled script let the talented Method actor and teacher down. The subplots don’t meld into the main storyline, instead lingering outside as annoying diversions, including scenes with a young police officer (Karl Geary) who takes a liking to Kate, and an older cop, Sergeant Calder (James Murtaugh), who is caught between speculating about Margaret’s past and wanting to be part of her future. Greytak (The Love Lesson, Hearing Voices) never achieves a flow in the film, which plays out like a series of disjointed moments that don’t come together, as if she had too much to say but not enough time to say it all, unfortunately choosing melodrama over nuance. Archaeology of a Woman opens September 12 at the Village East; Greytak and Kirland will participate in Q&As following the 7:00 screening on Friday night (moderated by Michael Musto) and the 4:25 shows on Saturday and Sunday.