JAMES BURKE, Director (JB): My fear was that Alzheimer’s disease is so depressing that people wouldn’t go to a movie about it. What was great about Brent’s script was the humor. There is humor, even in tragic situations. That sparked me; if we could make a movie where people actually laughed and cried at the same time, then maybe we could think about Alzheimer’s in a way that would be powerful and meaningful.

LEB: That is certainly how our family reacted. We laughed and cried. Having personal experience with dementia, it brought back some of the funny things that my father said and did. We also recognized that the movie was about the “two victims” of the disease – the person with Alzheimer’s and the caregiver, Duncan. In the film, Duncan faces a difficult choice; should I give up my goals and take care of my grandfather? Or can I move on with my life? Is this something that you’ve thought about in terms of your own life and the choices that you faced?

BRENT BOYD, Screenwriter (BB): By the time my grandfather had Alzheimer’s – the origin of the script for me – I had moved to California. He was in a nursing home when I returned. I never had Duncan’s dilemma, was never the sole or primary caregiver. When I went to visit him, I was the comic relief, the one he could talk to. My grandmother, my mother and some of her siblings were the caregivers. For the purposes of dramatic invention, I created this dilemma for a character in his twenties. But much of the movie comes from my experience with my grandfather.

LEB: Obviously you’re an excellent observer. I was a longdistance caregiver. My dad was living with my mother in Florida. Our family had three victims. Although I was older than Duncan, I experienced the same tension. It was diffi cult for me when I had to leave my dad after a visit. And when I was in NYC, I felt guilty. These are hard choices and Aurora Borealis portrays them in a very powerful way.

BB: When I visited, I was the California kid who heard about my grandfather not remembering people. But he always remembered me. Someone in a long-distance relationship gets special attention. Six months before he died, I visited and he didn’t remember me.

LEB: Very hard. My daughter once visited my dad in the hospital and asked, “Where has Grandpa gone?” She was heartbroken. We are grateful that a lot of fi lm and television incorporates an Alzheimer’s theme. It helps the audience relate and heightens public awareness. Do you think this fi lm is helping others become more enlightened about the problems of Alzheimer’s and caregiving?

JB: I’ve been at fifteen film festivals and I always get at least one person who says a parent had Alzheimer’s. But the caregiving theme also strikes a chord. Some say they are taking care of parents or grandparents – who may not have Alzheimer’s. I have also had people begin to cry.

LEB: When I say that in less than fi fty years one out of every fi ve New Yorkers will either have Alzheimer’s disease or be taking care of someone who does, I’m stunned at how many people relate in a personal way. Were there particular stories that you remember?

JB: Many people said that they had a family member who had the disease, and a number of them talk about the stigma of Alzheimer’s. In Aurora Borealis, Juliette Lewis calls it the “A Bomb.” In one piece, which did not make it into the movie, Juliette talks to Duncan, who makes a memory joke. She says, “That’s not funny.” I sense that it’s difficult to talk about Alzheimer’s. That must be one difficulty you face.

LEB: Absolutely. And it’s counter-productive, because it prevents people from getting help. People cannot reverse the course of Alzheimer’s, but if they are diagnosed early, they can play an active role in planning their own future. What challenges did your family face when they fi rst learned that your grandfather was ill? How old was he?

BB: I believe he was in his late sixties – too young. My grandparents moved to a “senior” apartment to be near my mom and the family took shifts to help out as much as possible. There is one line in the movie where Duncan’s brother is trying to convince him that Grandpa should be in a nursing home. Duncan explains that he just needs patience.

For our family, one challenge was being patient. I always felt that, like Duncan, if I could stick with him long enough, maybe I could figure out what he was talking about. In the last year of his life, this became harder. I didn’t have the time to listen or try to figure out what he was talking about. After years, you lose patience.

In the film, Donald Sutherland remembers that his brother, who had Alzheimer’s and was in a nursing home, thought he was living at the airport. That came from my grandfather. Sitting with him in the nursing home, I noticed that he had a big bay window. At night there was a ramp to a bridge, where the lights from the cars coming onto the bridge looked like airplanes landing on a runway. Making this connection took patience and time.

LEB: We know that Alzheimer’s is a physical illness, but it’s not just the physical caregiving that’s hard. It’s trying to listen. In his book, The Road Less Traveled, Scott Peck said the greatest gift we give is to listen. But when you’re challenged by somebody whose brain is not working properly, it’s a hard gift to give. After a time, it takes a toll, no matter how much you love somebody. Caregivers get frustrated by their inability to show love by listening. Were there particular resources that helped your family as your grandfather progressed in the disease?

BB: We had someone who visited him once each week at home, like the character, Kate, in the story. In the last three years, he was in a nursing home.

LEB: People often wait a long time before they take advantage of community resources. They try to manage, but finally realize that they are better served by a professional. Now that your grandfather is gone, do you think your family is worried about aging in a different way?

BB: Very much so. I was home when the movie opened in Minneapolis last month, and my mom mentioned that she’s worried about my grandmother. That was difficult, because my grandmother was stronger than my grandfather. In the movie, the grandmother is always doing something, trying to impart intellectual curiosity to the grandfather, but it doesn’t take. I saw that in my grandparents. My grandmother always tries to stay sharp and keep her brain working. My mom and her siblings are aware of the symptoms and are constantly monitoring themselves for signs of Alzheimer’s.

LEB: What advice do you give to others?

BB: I always go back to the notion of patience – and listening. Also – and this is something that comes from the movie – a sense of humor. And being aware that, for better or worse, this is life. It is sometimes unpleasant, and it is sometimes joyous, but you have to deal with it. And sometimes, the best way to deal with it is to laugh.

I think this comes through in the movie. The character is suffering, but he’s always willing to play a joke or have a laugh. My grandfather was like that until the last year of his life.

LEB: We need families to talk openly about Alzheimer’s and dementia. After President Reagan’s death, we had headlines about Alzheimer’s. Now, interest in the aging “baby boomers” is keeping Alzheimer’s on the front page. We need the media to help people get over the stigma, so we can acknowledge that Alzheimer’s is a physical illness that affects the brain and be comfortable asking for help. When you started to talk about this publicly, did you have any concerns?

BB: Not personally. The script started as a play in the mid-90’s when my grandfather was first diagnosed. I did a couple of drafts and put it away because it seemed too confessional. I assumed people would see this character as my grandfather and there was a certain amount of shame attached. I picked up the play to rework it one year after my grandfather died and felt like I had permission to revisit the material. And now, I view it as a tribute. I know he would be very proud.

LEB: I’ve learned that the reason some current shows – Grey’s Anatomy, The Sopranos, Boston Legal – have a character with Alzheimer’s is that a writer or actor has a family member or friend with the disease. We hope that even if people are not willing to go public, they will express this theme in their creative work.

BB: I feel like, in the last five years, the treatment of the disease in movies and television is different. Twenty years ago, it was crazy, senile grandpa over in the corner doing something wacky. Now, there’s a different understanding of what that person is going through reflected in the stories that are told.

LEB: Absolutely. We are also seeing the face of Alzheimer’s in a very new way. On Grey’s Anatomy, the character played by Kate Burton is probably under 60. What we used to think of as an old person’s disease is now something many fear at a much younger age. 10% of everyone with Alzheimer’s is under the age of 60.

JB: One line in the movie was stunning. It felt so honest and authentic. Duncan tells his grandfather, I want you to go to Thanksgiving. His grandfather says, “I don’t like people seeing me like this.” Duncan replies, “Oh, is that what this is about? You’re embarrassed?” His grandfather responds, “I’m not embarrassed. This isn’t me.”

This goes back to what you were talking about earlier – that the person in front of you is a shell of the person you knew before – even though you know the person is “in there.”

LEB: That line rang true for me too. When my father, who was a scratch golfer, stopped playing, and we asked him why, he said “It’s not me playing any more.” That’s a very authentic moment in this terrific film. I hope it gets the audience it deserves.

JB: Thank you very much. We hope that the movie and our conversation are useful in creating awareness – even in a small way.

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