What They Had Movie Review

“What They Had” is heart-tugging and lovely look at love. Or, perhaps, even more importantly – a study in commitment. When the older parents of two siblings have some health issues, do the kids have the right to tell the parents that they need to move into separate long-term care facilities? These parents are nothing if not committed to staying together, so it could be an uphill climb. The couple has been in this Chicago condo for ages, and they have no intention of leaving. Even if the wife is having memory problems, and she thinks she needs to trek in the middle of the night in a snowstorm, so she can get back to her ‘home’. Even if the husband is still having heart issues…

The couple in question is Burt (Robert Forster) and Ruth (Blythe Danner) who live the warm and cozy condo in a Chicago suburb. Burt has had a heart attack, or two, in the past couple of years. But he is feeling fine now. His wife of many years is Ruth, and she is starting to suffer from Alzheimer’s. One night, on Christmas Eve, Ruth puts on a light jacket and some slippers. Then she goes outside to walk from her house to her ‘home’ where she lived as a child. Burt gets very worried and calls his son Nicky (Michael Shannon). Ruth is located, and it brought to the hospital. Nicky calls his sister Bridget (Hilary Swank). Bridget and her daughter Emma (Taissa Farmiga) leave to go back to Chicago.

Nicky pleads with Bridget to convince their Dad to get into Ruth into a memory-care facility. It would be a safe place for her to be, and Burt can live at the assisted care place on the same campus. Burt will have none of that! He married Ruth to be there by her side, sickness and health, that type of thing – and he takes it all very seriously. He will not permit her to be anywhere but at their warm and cozy condo. She will remain right by his side, because – he made a commitment. So, there is an impasse. Nicky goes back his bar that he owns, and Bridget and Emma are not able to change Burt’s mind.

Besides, Bridget is having marital issues with her husband Eddie (Josh Lucas). She feels that she married him just to get her dad’s approval. Emma is in college, and she is not she wants to continue. But these problems will be minor if Ruth one day gets loose and gets lost somewhere in Chicago. That does appear to be a potential problem, as her Alzheimer’s continues to get worse. She can identify her kids correctly, be she calls Burt her ‘boyfriend’. Nicky thinks that the only way to get their Mom and Dad safe again is to get them out of that condo. Burt and Ruth are ready to get on with their lives. They do not want to be apart, but Burt thinks that maybe that will be a safer way to care for Ruth. But there are even more medical issues ahead, for both of them…

“What They Had” is a movie that can strike close to home, especially if you have any parents who are getting up in age. The medical conditions that can afflict older people can also affect their immediate family. This movie shows that is the case, and does it in a very straight-forward fashion. It does not sugar-coat it, and it does not take an easy way out. Of course none of this would matter without the right actors.

That is exactly what makes this movie so good. Robert Forster and Blythe Danner are paired up and they are amazing as the older couple. They fit the roles just perfectly. Hilary Swank is also very good. But Michael Shannon is superb in another emotionally heavy role – the type that seems to excel in being cast to play. The writing gives all of them a lot of very great conversations (as opposed to just plain dialog).

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