The term “sundowning” refers to the change many Alzheimer’s patients suffer at sunset, becoming more aggressive and confused as day turns to night. This film is aptly named, following as it does the effects of several changes on a family of lobster fishermen on a small island off the coast of Maine. The Pritchard men, old Tobey, his son Wayne, and Wayne’s son young Tobey, don’t always get along but they are a family. Their women have long since died, run off, or never come, and they seem to be at peace. But a simultaneoush shift in their livelihood, the island’s population, and their own home life revives old wounds and threatens to destroy them.
A border dispute with nearby Canadian fishermen has the whole island on edge, especially after lobster traps start to be damaged. A woman, Darcy, moves in next door to the Prichards. And worst of all, old Tobey is diagnosed with progressive dementia — probably Alzheimer’s. As he begins to decline more and more rapidly, Darcy comes over to help out. Her presence is a source of both relief and tension, however, and the family must decide how they will move forward in the face of mounting bills and an uncertain catch. This is a beautiful but tremendously sad film about the sacrifices one makes for family.
Shows 3/4, 7:00 pm (Camera 12); 3/6 8:00 pm (Camera 12).