A family deals with Alzheimer's

Hilary Swank leads a strong cast in the drama What They Had.

There's no faulting the acting in writer/director Elizabeth Chomko's What They Had, a story about the impact of Alzheimer's on a family already dealing with typical issues of generational conflict and parental approval.

Hilary Swank portrays Bridget, a woman who travels with her teenage daughter (Taissa Farmiga) from California to Chicago when her brother (Michael Shannon) asks for help.

Shannon's Nicky, who remained in Chicago, has cared for his mother (Blythe Danner) and father (Robert Forster) but he's reached the end of his rope. Danner's Ruth has wandered off in her nightgown on a cold Chicago night and the family is frantic about the harm that might befall her. The drama centers on what to do about Ruth, a once-competent woman who's increasingly removed from reality and who soon turns up unharmed.

Forster's Bert resists putting his wife in memory care, even if he can live a nearby assisted living facility that would allow him to visit at will. He refuses to let go of his marriage and insists that he's perfectly capable of taking care of Danner's Ruth by himself.

Shannon gets a much-needed opportunity to play a normal guy -- albeit one who's struggling with and frustrated by difficult problems. Shannon's Nicky owns a bar that's not doing as well as he'd hoped. He's constantly battling with his father. Dad berates Nicky for not finishing college and becoming a bartender. It means nothing to Dad that his son owns the bar.

Forster, in fine form, plays an ardent Catholic, a down-to-earth guy who believes in marriage as an "until-death-do-us-part" proposition? Bert isn't one for nuance, but he's never treated like an idiot. Forster keeps him real and helps us understand that Bert can't reconcile his memories of better days with the situation in which he now finds himself.

Swank's Bridget seems conflicted about nearly everything: her role as a mother, her daughter's refusal to enroll in college and her relationship with the husband (a briefly seen Josh Lucas) she left in LA.

It's hardly a surprise to say that the always impressive Shannon gives a strong performance, but he does. He captures Nicky’s genuine concern and snide humor, as well as his fury.

Danner plays a wife and mother convincingly addled by her medical condition, yet still showing traces of a woman who's able to laugh at herself.

Not every moment in What They Had rang true to me. Bridget's listless marriage, for example, receives too little attention to make it a convincing part of the story. But the movie never feels less than fully lived-in by a cast that couldn't be any better.

A relaxed, enjoyable father/daughter tale

Heart Beats Loud is one of those laid-back movies that isn't out to oversell you on anything. Set in the Red Hook section of Brooklyn, the movie tells the story of a father and daughter who make music together. The twist: The daughter (an appealing Kiersey Clemons) has ambitions that go beyond music. She's about to start college and wants to be a doctor. Dad (a relaxed but sometimes dour Nick Offerman) thinks the two should try to pursue a musical career together, particularly because Clemons' Sam has an obviously potent talent. But it’s Offerman's Frank who dreams of striking musical gold. A hit record could liberate him from the failing, vinyl-only record store over which he presides. He'd like to make music, not sell it. The songs -- pleasing enough -- are interrupted by whispers of a plot involving Offerman’s character’s mom (Blythe Danner); his landlady (Toni Collette) and his bartender friend (Ted Danson). A romance between Clemons' character and a young woman played by American Honey's Sasha Lane doesn't add much, but the movie is relaxed enough to accommodate a bit of meandering. Offerman has a sly way of commanding the screen, avoiding any of the ingratiating gestures that would have turned Frank into an off-beat role model. Director Brett Haley (I'll See You in My Dreams) may not dig deep, but his movie wanders into summer buoyed by the odd couple chemistry of a father who may have more growing up to do than his brightly ambitious daughter.

When dreams begin to age

Blythe Danner boosts I'll See You In My Dreams.

Carol Peterson lives in a nice home in a pleasant California neighborhood. She's a retired widow who evidently has no money or health problems. But even at that, Carol's life isn't perfect. When she's forced to put her 14-year-old dog down, her loneliness becomes more acute. Carol knows there's something missing from a life in which the "to-do" board in her kitchen contains only two items: "Walk" and "dry cleaning."

I'll See You In My Dreams belongs to Blythe Danner, the actress who plays Carol.
Having been widowed for 20 years, Danner's Carol becomes a kind of case study: What happens when an older woman who's secure in most ways can't entirely conquer her loneliness?

The movie introduces a couple of men into Carol's life. The first is Lloyd (Martin Starr), her pool boy. Don't fret, director Brett Haley, working from a script he co-wrote with Marc Basch, isn't going to force Carol into an affair with a younger man whose life can't seem to take root. The two develop an emotional closeness with hints of romantic attraction. Nothing more.

After a reluctant and disastrous attempt at something called "speed dating" -- men and women meet in a contrived situation in which they're supposed to get to know one another within minutes -- an attractive man (Sam Elliott) approaches Carol and expresses a straightforward interest in her.

Elliott's Bill is a self-assured bachelor with a boat. He charms Carol, although he may be needier than he lets on. Bill usually carries an unlit cigar (an oral fixation, he muses), and he may be a little too eager to push Carol toward commitment.

For her part, Carol's happy for the company, and when she shares news of her involvement with her visiting daughter (Malin Ackerman), she's clearly anticipating a new chapter in her life.

Carol's gal pals provide the movie its own Greek chorus: Rhea Perlman, Mary Kay Place and June Squibb all have their moments.

Haley's direction hardly qualifies as ambitious. Still, this mostly quiet movie deserves credit for dealing with something real: the emptiness that can accrue to those who are left alone and who sometimes feel the taunting vacancy in a day's silence.

Besides, you get to hear Carol, a former singer, do a karaoke version of Cry Me A River that may just give you new insight into the song, as well as a greater appreciation for Danner's ample gifts.