30 Second Bottom Line: Lovers reunite after 40 years and rekindle the passion that was interrupted by following separate paths.
Story Line: Young adult lovers, who embody the sprit of being carefree, get a thrill out of simple things such as listening to each other breathe, or marveling at the feel of a beating heart as your head rests on your lover's chest. As is almost always the case, first love does not endure, and these young lovers go their separate ways. This can happen for any number of reasons…a job, school, family and other things not necessarily related to incompatibility. At times we think of that person and what might have been.
Andreas (Charles `Bud' Tingwell) searches out his love from his younger days, Claire (Julia Blake), whom he has not seen since he was a young man. He now has adult child and has been a widower for over 20 years. Claire is married with grown child as well.
Andreas and Claire meet for a day and spend time together like it is a high school reunion. When they go to bed together after a second meeting, they rekindle the spirit from decades ago. Soon their consciences have them deciding what, if anything, to tell their immediate families. Should Claire put this in the face of her dutiful husband John (Terry Norris, her real life husband)? Andreas is free to tell his daughter because he is a widower. Will Claire tell her adult child? When you are close to 70 years old, is it too late in life to not really be who you are and not keep any secrets?
Tell Me More About It: This AARP love story has the emotional power of the Clint Eastwood/Meryl Streep film Bridges of Madison County. It's a love story involving mature adults, where very difficult decisions are made regarding the family to which you are currently committed. In a very quiet way, Innocence takes the emotions of Streep to the next logical level. That is, when do you really lay it all on the line and put it out into the open for all to see?
If you are still not sure you want to see Innocence, consider the fact that when it was first introduced in Cannes, Roger Ebert selected it as his best film. It was also the People's Choice (most popular) at Montreal, and was # 2 of almost 300 films at Toronto. A Jury Prize was awarded at Toronto which is the stamp of approval from the professionals and the People's Choice is what it implies, the ticket paying movie goers.
Paul Cox is a wonderful director. When you see one of his films, you don't forget the people or what it was about. As in AWoman's Tale, this story deals with the choices we make in the December of our lives. It does so with joy and not sadness.
Clearly we all go through phases in life when the way we see things and how we react to them changes. When we mature, should we continue to fight life with the vibrancy of our youth or should we just "weather the storm in our relationships and go on" because it's comfortable? If you are on emotional cruise control and need a wake up call, Innocence may bring you to a much-needed reality.
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