**SPOILERS** Bittersweet and touching little movie that has to do with young Duncan Shorter,Joshua Jackson, who's life had hit a road block ever since his father-David-died of a sudden heart-attack ten years ago when he was 39 years old.Listless without any ambition Duncan's life has been going absolutely nowhere since he dropped out of school and gave up a collage scholarship when his dad passed away. Now Duncan is worried about his 82 year-old grandfather Ronald, Donald Sutherland, who's going fast with his kidney's shot and both Parkinson's and Alzheimers diseases starting to set in. With his Grandma Ruth, Louise Fletcher, unable to take care of her ailing husband Duncan gets a job at the couples apartment house as a handyman to be both close to Grandpa Ronald and thus prevent him from being sent into a local nursing-home that in fact, being the free soul that he is, will end up killing him.It's when Duncan meets Grandpa's home assistant Kate, Jullette Lewis, that he starts to feel that his life is about to turn around for the better. Kate is not only well liked by Grandpa Ronald but the old guy wants to play match-maker in getting her and his somewhat shy,with women, grandson Duncan hitched! It doesn't take long for both Kate and Duncan to fall in love with each other but the big stumbling block to them ever staying together is not only Gramps but what Duncan has been searching for, without success, the last ten years! The circumstances of Duncan's as well as his philandering brother Jake, Steven Pasquale, father's death!As Grampa Ronald's health begins to slowly deteriorate he starts to look for a way to ends his misery by getting Duncan to help him kill himself. Duncan who's been haunted over the years over his fathers, a recovering coke addict, sudden death, which he believes was the result of a drug overdose, is very much against letting Grandpa Ronald end his life, this time with a shotgun blast, in somewhat the same way!Solid performances all around by an all-star cast that includes in a very small but important role John Kapelos as the late David Shorter's best friend Stu. It was Stu who was with David the night he died and who set Duncan and his brother Jake's minds at ease in just what were the chain of events that lead to his tragic death.***SPOILERS**** As for Donald Sutherland as Grandapa Ronald he was never better as the sad and suicidal old man who saw his life ebbing away right in front of his eyes. Grandpa Ronald in trying to get Duncan to help him do the job, by blowing his brains out, on him backfired together with his shotgun when Duncan changed his mind at the very last moment. In the end it was fate that intervened and made Ronald's last moments on earth far more tranquil, and less bloody, then what they could have been.

I enjoyed the characters in this movie tremendously.Donald Sutherland is riveting as an 82-year old man with Parkinson's disease and rapidly advancing Alzheimers. I would recommend the movie for that reason alone. Oscar-winner Louise Fletcher brings great feeling and warmth to her role as his wife. The death-cloud that hangs over these two brave characters is contrasted by the vivacious love of Jason Jackson and Juliete Lewis. They are warm and playful and believable, and there's no way a viewer can not root for their happiness. The setting, Minneapolis, is a wonderful change of pace from the usual NY/LA scenes. Supporting characters seem natural - neither more nor less than you would expect of them.I would've rated this move higher, but the ending is too pat. I won't give it away, but the story has three mysteries and 10 minutes from the end it seems like everyone realized "Oops, only ten minutes left to finish the movie." In quick succession, each of the three mysteries is resolved, exactly like you'd imagine they'd be. It's a shame, because a movie that makes us think & feel for 113 minutes ends up with 10 minutes of "yup, of course." See it anyway.

AURORA BOREALIS is a superb film by James Burke ('In Dark Places' and 'Tis a Gift to Be Simple') from a story by Brent Boyd ('The Green Room' and 'Crazy') and if this film is a sample of how these two fine talents collaborate, we can only hope for more. The cast assembled for this movie gives evidence that the actors deeply admire their vision: it is well deserved.The setting is winter in Minneapolis, the hometown of the Shorter family: Grandfather Ronald (Donald Sutherland), Grandmother Ruth (Louise Fletcher), and the two grandsons Duncan (Joshua Jackson) and Jacob (Steven Pasquale). The boys' father died at age 39 (10 years prior to the opening of the story) and both boys grew up on their own, feeling deserted by a father who had been a cocaine abuser at one time. Duncan had been a champion hockey player, but when his father died his goals diminished and he has been in and out of odd jobs without a solid look at his future. Jacob runs a nursing home business and when he is not working, he is bringing his girlfriends to Duncan's flat for trysts. Duncan cares for his grandfather Ronald who has multiple illnesses (Parkinson's Disease, dementia) yet who maintains a humble life with Ruth. As Ronald's condition deteriorates, Duncan takes a handyman's job in the complex where his grandparents live and during this time the two men bond more closely than ever: Ronald's fading mind sees northern lights from his apartment window and Duncan out of love and growing understanding lets him believe they are real. Ronald is aware of his mental instability and lets Duncan know that he would like to take his life with a shotgun, an idea Duncan prevents.Ronald and Ruth have a health care provider Kate (Juliette Lewis) whom they trust and love and encourage Duncan to seek out as a partner. Kate and Duncan date and fill the wide gaps in each other's personalities, yet when the opportunity comes for Kate to move to sunny San Diego, she is unable to make Duncan budge from his safe routine existence in Minneapolis. But as Duncan's resistance is broken down (he learns from a mentor that his father did not die of cocaine abuse, Ronald dies a natural death, etc), he views Kate as the person who can alter his outlook and his life.Every member of this cast is extraordinary: Donald Sutherland creates a man eaten by Parkinson's Disease and dementia without ever becoming a caricature, Louise Fletcher reminds us how self-effacing her acting has always been, Juliette Lewis turns in one of her most sensitive roles, and Joshua Jackson finds every nuance of the troubled but needy Duncan and engages our empathy. Each of the smaller rolls is likewise pitch perfect, no doubt due in large part to the sensitive direction of Burke. It is so refreshing to watch a film as meaningful in message and in skillful acting as this, a movie that restores our confidence in film as art. Highly recommended. Grady Harp

I had the pleasure of viewing this movie just tonight, and I have to say that I was pleasantly surprised. First of all, the acting was amazing. I have never been as impressed and blown away with Donald Sutherland's acting as I was after seeing his performance. This role and his role in Ordinary People have to be his two best roles that I have seen. His performance as an aging grandfather with Parkinson's and ongoing dementia was accurate, heartbreaking and hilarious all at the same time. If I had any influence in the industry, I would try to vouch for him getting at least an Oscar nomination, if not the award itself. Everyone in the movie is amazing as well. It's not often that you see a movie where you forget that you are watching movie stars but actually see the characters in the story, but this film achieved that, and no small feat considering the numerous well known actors in it. I highly recommend the film.