Forget Me Never (1999)

An administrative assistant (Mia Farrow) in a major law firm finds herself struggling with disorientation and memory lapses. Although only in her fifties, she is diagnosed with the early onset of Alzheimer's disease. TV movies about people suffering from a disease, everything from cancer to AIDS, are a staple of TV movies, usually bad ones. So much so that it's become a quick put down or dismissal as in "It's like a TV movie of the week"! But every once in awhile, they get it right. This is one of those times. Based on the non fiction book LIVING IN THE LABYRINTH by Diana McGowin (played by Farrow here), this is a non sentimental, hard nosed look at one woman's dealing with the onset of the disease. Anchored by a terrific performance by Farrow, she lets us see her confusion, fear, anger, strength as she comes to terms of the reality of her situation. This isn't a tearjerker but an opportunity from someone suffering with the disease to allow us to see a little, just a little, of what her world is like. It might have been made for TV but it's shot like a feature film and the creative cinematography by Mike Rash (THE WHALES OF AUGUST) elevates the look of the film. Directed by Robert Allan Ackerman. With Martin Sheen, Colm Feore and Roberta Maxwell.