Jane Seymour's new film shines a light on dementia
She’s played everything from a Bond girl to Dr Quinn and now two-time Golden Globe Award winner, Jane Seymour, stars in an Australian film which deals with dementia and the trauma this deadly illness causes - called Ruby’s Choice.
The new film was shot in Sydney and regional NSW during COVID last year and despite all the hold ups and restrictions, it was released to cinemas in Australia last week with Seymour herself, the director Michael Budd, and many of the cast and crew at the premiere.
Seymour, who’s 71 years of age, plays the grandmother called Ruby, who’s trying to cope with her dementia. Her family help her along the way and as they do, they find they want her in their lives but they want to be sure she’s living her life on her own terms.
Dementia Foundation for Spark of Life – is the official charity partner for the film and representatives from the foundation worked closely with the film makers to ensure the story was true-to-life.
Their work rings true and the film hits the right spot, highlighting the pain and distress any family goes through when one of them has dementia or Alzheimer’s disease.
Seymour drew on her own family experience for the role
Seymour is a global ambassador for Dementia Foundation for Spark of Life and she says she drew on her own family’s experiences to play the role. When talking with Channel 7 she said, “I have a lot of family members who’ve had dementia and Alzheimer’s, so I’ve been around that world. When you play someone who has it, and you realise the fear they have when they don’t know what’s happening or what’s going on, it’s terrifying."
“But at the same time, in Ruby’s case, she mends the hearts of everyone in her family,” she adds. “It’s a very sad and scary place to put yourself … to go there. She loses her ability to know where the bathroom is – that is a really big one. She gets lost,” says Seymour.
After accidentally burning down her house, Ruby is forced to move in with her daughter Sharon (played by Jacqueline McKenzie) and the young family has to adapt to Ruby living with them. Ruby finds an ally in their daughter, Tash, played by Coco Jack Gillies as a teenager and by Nicole Pastor as an adult.
Somehow, the whole experience ends up bringing the family together and in the end they all make the decision it’s ‘Ruby’s Choice’ when it comes to how Ruby will live out her later years.
A film like this can start new conversations about dementia
Ruby’s Choice was made with the intention of giving its audiences a new way of looking at dementia and hopefully, starting new conversations about this topic. As the director, Michael Budd, has said, “Film is a fundamental way of reaching the community to start such a conversation about an issue of exceptional importance.”
“Dementia is a really tricky topic to discuss in film,” he added. “As the director of Ruby’s Choice, I drew on my personal experiences interacting with people with dementia, including my grandmother. My aim was to carefully portray dementia in a highly accurate and respectful way."
“We worked incredibly hard to pull Ruby’s Choice together throughout the pandemic because it is a story so close to our hearts and an important one to get out into the public arena.”
Research shows dementia is the leading cause of death for women
According to the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare‘s 2019 Deaths in Australia report, dementia (including Alzheimer’s disease) causes 12% of deaths and this makes it the leading cause of death for women.
For men in Australia, dementia is the second major cause of death with heart disease still the major cause of death among men.
In recent years, dementia has been a hot topic in film. Only last year, Anthony Hopkins won Best Actor at the Oscars for his role in The Father and Julianne Moore won Best Actress for her lead part in 2014 film, Still Alice (SBS on Demand).
Both films highlighted the issue of dementia. bringing this topic into much sharper focus. Now we have the Australian film, Ruby’s Choice, to add to the list of recent films dealing with this important topic.
You can check out the trailer below.
Image credits: Pamela Connellan