Some Kind of Heaven
**Seen for the 2020 Atlanta Film Festival.
Dennis is one of the most compelling characters a documentarian could ask for. He has moved to Florida and is looking to settle into the retirement community known as The Villages. He has been living out of his van, and is trying to make it into the residency through his charming of women. He’s got a good handle on how to do that, but when we find out why that is so important, we cannot help but wonder whether he deserves such kindness. Shouldn’t everyone be able to enjoy the twilight of their life, though? That’s the fundamental question at the heart of Lance Oppenheim’s documentary.
I think the next most interesting character in “Some Kind of Heaven” is Reggie. He and his wife, Anne, have been married for a lifetime, but they still struggle. They are happy in The Villages, but Reggie is almost as much of a handful as Dennis is. He has recently been charged with possession of marijuana, which he had a medicinal marijuana card for, but he also was in possession with $5 worth of cocaine. The catch is, Reggie doesn’t remember the cocaine. It doesn’t appear as though he has Alzheimer’s, however, which might explain his behavior. When he’s in front of a judge, he doesn’t have a lawyer, so he tries to plead his case himself, and the way he does so is not a strategy that any attorney would recommend. It’s the most entertaining scene in the movie, but, when we see his second appearance in front of the judge, his behavior might have an explanation, and we cannot help but worry about what future he and Anne can have together, even if he does stay our of jail.
Barbara is the fourth main character in the film, and she provides the heart, as a woman who is trying to find some direction in her twilight years. She finds comfort and good people to surround herself with at The Villages, and her faith is a part of that; seeing her on a mini golf course with one of the other residents makes for a lovely, sweet moment pointing at the community Oppenheim is highlighting in his film. There’s not a lot of major themes and ideas the film tackles, and that’s one of its charms. The most important idea the film aims to explore is how people trying to find happiness, knowing they have more time behind them than in front of him. Oppenheim’s craftsmanship is top flight, and befits the individuals he is following in this film, even when they seem to be behaving in a way we disagree with. At a certain point, though, you just have to let people live. That might be one of the other ideas Oppenheim is espousing in his lovely film.
