2019, United Kingdom, 87 min.
Due to the onslaught of Alzheimer’s disease, Maud’s life consists of notes—reminders affixed to items around the house and stuffed into her pockets. It’s a life of frustration and stasis, punctuated by outings with her friend, Elizabeth (Maggie Steed), who resides nearby. When Elizabeth doesn’t show up for their get-together, Maud (Glenda Jackson) is annoyed. The time and place are on a scrap of paper, so where is she? As the days mount without any explanation of Elizabeth’s sudden disappearance, Maud grows obsessed, then frantic as the hazy details of her friend’s predicament overlap with an unresolved tragedy from long ago. This isn’t a mystery as much as it is a stirring portrait of an older woman’s struggle to be heard as she gets pulled between the past and the present. Elizabeth Is Missing provides a potent reminder of the agony faced by those afflicted with dementia, the patience required by their loved ones and the lack of a convenient resolution all around. Jackson, as usual, is terrific. Based on Emma Healey’s novel.
