Head Full of Honey (2019)

Rating: 6/10
Genre: Drama
Related Titles: Still Alice, The Leisure Seeker, What They Had
By Leanne Harragan

A widower grows frustrated when Alzheimer's starts to take all his memories. He sets off on a journey with his young granddaughter, to the city where he met his wife. 

Head Full of Honey follows the story of Amadeus and his suffering from Alzheimer's disease. It looks at how the disease effects the lives of his family and all those around him. It's heart is definitely in the right place but unfortunately it's execution is pretty disastrous and ends up feeling more damaging than helpful. 

The first half of this film is full of typical traits of those suffering with the disease, Amadeus finds himself struggling to keep track of names, make a bizarre eulogy at his late wife's funeral, begins to put books in the fridge and milk on the bookshelf, he fears that those close to him are stealing from him and he slowly begins to struggling with day to day tasks. One of the things that stuck out for me was the treatment of Amadeus by those around him, it was quite moving to see how the wider community looked out for him in his time of need. 

Upon moving in with his son, daughter-in-law and granddaughter, the plot thickens and his granddaughter becomes one of the most caring people in his life, taking the time to find out more about how to care for him and doing her best to cover up for him. Alongside this there is also a plot line about the difficulties that son Nick and wife Sarah are facing trouble within their marriage. It's not really necessary and just seems to be added drama to add to the film rather than focusing completely on the struggle of caring from someone with Alzheimer's. The second half of the film follows Amadeus and his granddaughters journey to Venice, after being told it's important for him to have purpose, she decides to embark on this journey. As cute as it is, it's all just too pie in the sky. Their journey via train is interrupted when Amadeus hops of the train midway, then they are left to travel via hitchhiking and on foot through the mountains of Europe. Sweet but all too ridiculous. 

Performances in this film are good with stars Nick Nolte, Matt Dillon and Emily Mortimer being the topped billed. Nolte plays Amadeus, a sweet and occasionally moving performances but his character like his mind loses focus half-way through the film and this is a shame as it leaves him looking more bumbling than necessary. Dillon and Mortimer play son and daughter-in-law struggling to overcome their own marital problems let alone deal with Amadeus too. Their acting is good but occasionally lacks the necessary chemistry. Newcomer Sophia Lane Nolte played granddaughter Matilda and while her performance was a little cringe at times but for the most part it's where the best dialogue and conversations come from. 

The film isn't all bad, it's got a good cast but some poorly written characters. While the effects of Alzheimer's is shown in full forces, the story line about the problems between the families marriage just seemed tagged on and don't really add much to the film. Overall, I think this film was trying to be something bigger and have more of an impact but unfortunately falls short. That being said if viewing this, don't forget your tissues!