Holy Cow....seriously.

I try to be unbiased but...this movie was just four shades of awesome. There is NOTHING that you can pick apart with it.

The acting....Oscar worthy. The directing...Oscar worthy. The writing...Oscar worthy.

If you are going to make a complaint about anything, it might be the score, but even then the piano scenes make up for that and that was all Plummer.

It was engrossing. It was vivid. It was oddly heartwarming and oddly comical in parts and that just worked to add realism to a film that dealt with some horrible and depressing themes...mass murder and dementia...with enough humor and heart to humanize it...which only adds to a sense of realism that makes it even more disturbingly vivid.

And the twist at the end is just worth it, just keep on your toes, the hints to that twist are subtle, but there to be found.

I don't think I've seen a movie this great in a very long time.

Zev Guttman (Christopher Plummer) suffers from dementia and memory problems. His wife Ruth died a week before. He walks out of the nursing home on a mission to hunt down Auschwitz Blockführer Otto Wallisch who is hiding under the name Rudy Kurlander. His son Charles (Henry Czerny) tries to track him down. Zev is helped by his wheelchair-bound partner Max Rosenbaum (Martin Landau) from the nursing home. They are both Auschwitz survivors who lost their families. There are 4 recorded Rudy Kurlanders who emigrated after the war. After two wrong Rudys, Zev finds the son of the third Rudy, John Kurlander (Dean Norris),who is a neo-Nazi.

It's a little slow going in the first half. It could be something else especially with Plummer acting the hell out of this. I thought it could be a misunderstanding or an illusion of his destroyed mind. I would have preferred a delusional quest. The first two Rudys are problematic for me because anyone sneaking into the country with false identity would have false proof to back him up. The movie gets much better with the arrival of Dean Norris. I would extend his part of the movie and eliminate the first two Rudys. Some may be uncomfortable with the use of Auschwitz as a device for a mystery thriller. I don't dismiss that complaint especially for people with personal connections. There are no doubt some problems with this but there are also intriguing sections.

Zev Gutman (Christopher Plummer) has severe dementia. Everyday he wakes up and rediscovers his wife Ruth has passed on. He still remembers most people including his son Charles (Henry Czerny) and good friend Max (Martin Landau). Max is wealthy and is in a wheel chair, although he has all of his marbles. He convinces Zev to hunt down Auschwitz block guard, now using the name Rudy Kurlander and kill him. The problem is that Zef forgets his task every time he goes to sleep and must rely on a lengthy letter Max has composed with detailed instructions. The other issue is that there are multiple people who might be Kurlander.

Not since Michael Caine played Harry Brown have senior vigilantes so terrorized the world of entertainment. You feel sorry for Zev and you have to wonder about the revenge and justice factor for people in their nineties. The film has a virtually clueless twist that it springs on you. The acting was decent and the movie keeps you engaged as you not only wonder about the next encounter, but how Zev can make it through the day.

Good drama.

Guide: No swearing, sex, or nudity.