Sandra's Summer Book and Movie List

Books and Movies Featuring Care Givers

Rear Window (1954)

Alfred Hitchcock's masterful 1954 suspense film, Rear Window, gives us the most classic caregiver ever portrayed on the silver screen!

In Rear Window, based on the Cornell Woolrich story, "It Had to be Murder", (which itself was based on an H.G. Wells story, "Through a Window"), Alfred Hitchcock brings us Jimmy Stewart as adventure photographer, L.B. "Jeff" Jeffries, who is laid up in a hip-high cast following a mishap while photographing a car race. Jeffries passes his recuperation time by looking through his rear window into all the apartments bordering his New York apartment's courtyard. Jeffries observes the unvarnished lives of every manner of New York inhabitant: frustrated composers; newlyweds; lonely spinsters; ambitious Broadway dancers; and finally, the strange, secretive goings-on of a salesman and his needy, nagging wife.

It is this salesman, (played against-type by a pre-Perry Mason Raymond Burr), whom Jeffries suspects of abusing his wife. A few days pass during which Jeffries doesn't see the salesman's wife at all and he comes to suspect the ever-furtive salesman of having murdered his wife and spiriting the body out of the apartment. (Burr's character, made up as a white-haired, chain-smoking, explosive-tempered tyrant - is Hitchcock's amusing send-up of his own former and much-despised boss, David O. Selznick.)

Listening to Jimmy Stewart's rear window observations and his theories on this suspected crime is Stella, his practical, no-nonsense caregiver, played by the inimitable Thelma Ritter. (Sister of Tex Ritter and aunt of John Ritter) While providing a laid-up Jeffries with nutritious meals, linen service, light housekeeping and medication reminders, Stella is gradually convinced that her client's suspicions may have some merit and takes it upon herself to team up with Jeffrie's girlfriend, Lisa (a never-more-lovely Grace Kelly), to snoop on the salesman in order to get the goods on him!

Note: While my caregivers at CARE GIVERS NW are certainly every bit as good as Thelma Ritter's character at providing excellent Activities of Daily Living services, and are also very good listeners to boot, we typically draw the line at participating in murder investigations!

Rear Window is Hitchcock at his absolute best; surrounded by an excellent supporting cast, Stewart and Kelly turn in the performances of their careers. Every time I watch Rear Window, I see something new and am always delighted by how well this suspense film stands up to time. The disputed ownership and broadcast rights for Rear Window were eventually litigated before the U.S. Supreme Court; if it took a Supreme Court decision to make this classic film available to us, it was a credit to the American judiciary system!

Read Sandra's Other Reviews!

The Savages • "T" is for Trespass • A Man in Full • Scent of a Woman

Sandra's Summer Book & Movie List

Books and Movies Featuring Care Givers

Okay, you can search high and low on eBay or Toys-'R'-Us and you won't find a single Care Givers action figure! But that doesn't mean care givers are not a part of our popular culture. The fact of the matter is that care givers are featured in many of yesterday and today's popular books and films. Summertime is here and I usually take that time of year to catch up on my reading and film-watching; I thought I'd share with you a few of my favorite books and films in which care givers play prominent roles!

The Savages (2007)

Siblings Jon and Wendy Savage have spent the bulk of their adult years trying to distance themselves from the painful memories of their childhood; memories made painful largely as a result of their father Lenny's abusive parenting style. Life has a way of converting twenty years of avoidance into a stark, real-time focus in a matter of minutes. Lenny, now aged and suffering from early onset Alzheimer's, is no longer able to care for himself. A phone call to each adult child yanks Jon (portrayed by Philip Seymor Hoffman, who as a much younger actor co-starred in the Gray Matters-reviewed Scent of a Woman) and Wendy (Laura Linney) from their respective dysfunctional lives and into a new world of in-home care, assisted living facilities, long-term care concerns and financial pressures.

Reluctant Jon and Wendy are forced to deal with all of these challenges while learning to accept their father in an altered perspective as a helpless, aging parent rather than an omnipotent bully. Writer-director, Tamara Jenkins (Slums of Beverly Hills) told Terry Gross of NPR's Fresh Air, that she drew heavily on her experiences taking care of her elderly grandmother and elderly father, both Alzheimer's sufferers. In The Savages, Jenkins uses her experiences to skillfully provide a poignant and often funny look at two forty-something siblings who have not been very good at taking care of themselves, suddenly grappling with the complexities of taking care of an elderly parent with Alzheimer's.

Their struggles with this challenge and the surprising end-results are humorous, moving and thought-provoking.

As the CEO of CARE GIVERS NW, I have seen many families like The Savages characters Jon, Wendy and Lenny in a sudden state of crisis. When a family paradigm suddenly shifts and an additional element of care is required for a parent (perhaps both), it is advisable to aarrange for an assessment from a licensed in-home care agency. CARE GIVERS NW (and most other professional services like it) does not charge for an assessment; it is done in the comfort of the client's home and there is no obligation whatsoever. Assessments can help you determine what kind of care needs you or your parents may require and best ways to answer those needs. Even if family members become the primary care givers for a Senior Loved One, there is always the need for a periodic back-up or respite care help from a qualified agency. The assessment can help you determine what particular care strategy is right for you and your entire family's needs.

Read Sandra's Other Reviews!

Rear Window • "T" is for Trespass • A Man in Full • Scent of a Woman

Sandra's Summer Book and Movie List

Books and Movies Featuring Care Givers

Okay, you can search high and low on eBay or Toys-'R'-Us and you won't find a single Care Givers action figure! But that doesn't mean care givers are not a part of our popular culture. The fact of the matter is that care givers are featured in many of yesterday and today's popular books and films. Summertime is here and I usually take that time of year to catch up on my reading and film-watching; I thought I'd share with you a few of my favorite books and films in which care givers play prominent roles!

"T" is for Trespass
By: Sue Grafton
G.P. Putnam's Sons, 2007

I am a huge fan of Sue Grafton's entertaining Kinsey Milhone series. At nineteen letters ("A" is for Alibi,"B" is for Burglar, etc.) into this popular series, Grafton treated us to a different writing style in "S" is for "Silence", using cleverly woven flashbacks in addition to Kinsey's crisp and often humorous narration. Now, in "T" is for Trespass, Grafton delivers yet another new twist, allowing us to see the story unfold not only through Kinsey's eyes, but also through the eyes of the antagonist, a shrewd, cunning sociopath by the name of Solana Rojas.

"T" is for Tresspass is a cautionary tale about the importance of retaining an in-home care giver through a reputable caregiving service, like CARE GIVERS NW. Solana Rojas is skilled in the art of identity theft and portrays herself as a trained, reliable and caring senior care giver; in reality, she is a dangerous predator who gains entry into the lives of her clients, takes control and strips them of their money, possessions, and sometimes .... their lives! "T" is for Trespass is set in the late-1980's, a pre-Internet world which makes identity theft much easier to go undetected. Nonetheless, even in today's world of computers and instantaneous cross-checking, a careless client can put themselves in just as great a risk without the aid of a professional, state-licensed care service like CARE GIVERS NW.

Kinsey's neighbor is at home after a hospital stay and needs some extra help during the recuperation process. Through a chain of events, private eye Kinsey is hired to conduct a background check on a care giver the neighbor's out-of-town relative has employed. At first blush, the care giver, Solana Rojas, seems to check out fine; but in short time some odd occurences start Kinsey's detective instincts twitching and she looks a little deeper into Solana's identity, qualifications and history. Kinsey is a good detective, but Solana, who soon realizes she's being stalked, is a ruthless and resourceful adversary. Will Kinsey discover the true extent of how dangerous Solana is before it's too late for her neighbor - or possibly herself?

Be prepared to read "T" is for Trespass while you're cooking, vacuuming, mowing the lawn or otherwise ignoring all other responsibilities as you breathlessly work your way through the plot. In "T" is for Trespass you get the point-of-views of both the dogged Kinsey and the cunning Solana as they circle each other and ultimately collide in an exciting climax!

Read Sandra's Other Reviews!

Rear Window • The Savages • A Man in Full • Scent of a Woman

Sandra's Summer Book and Movie List

Books and Movies Featuring Care Givers

Okay, you can search high and low on eBay or Toys-'R'-Us and you won't find a single Care Givers action figure! But that doesn't mean care givers are not a part of our popular culture. The fact of the matter is that care givers are featured in many of yesterday and today's popular books and films. Summertime is here and I usually take that time of year to catch up on my reading and film-watching; I thought I'd share with you a few of my favorite books and films in which care givers play prominent roles!

A Man in Full
By: Tom Wolfe
Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 1998

Published eleven years after his acclaimed and wildly popular Bonfire of the Vanities, the much-anticipated A Man in Full started out, according to Wolfe, as "a book about everything".; at a hefty 744 pages, one's first impression could very well be that Wolfe achieved his objective! The good news is that in spite of its heft, A Man in Full is an absolute compelling work of modern literature and, once started, is nearly impossible to put down.

A Man in Full introduces us to Charlie Croker, an Atlanta-area real estate developer tycoon and businessman. We find Charlie on the slippery down-slope of a "rags-to-riches" career. Having ridden an Atlanta boom-cycle to the top of the heap, Charlie is scrambling to keep from surfing a wave of crushing debt onto a rocky shore of massive foreclosure, bankruptcy and disgrace. To complicate matters, Charlie is beginning to have serious self-doubts about his personal values, moral compass and his genuine place in life.

Enter Conrad, a wrongly-convicted California fugitive who is working for an Atlanta-area in-home caregiving agency using a false identity. Although circumstances might suggest otherwise, Conrad's life has actually been changed dramatically for the good by a recent conversion to the Stoic school of philosophy; while being retained as an in-home caregiver for a post-operative Charlie Croker, he proceeds to introduce Charlie to his new-found wisdom in an attempt to help Charlie find his way to a better life.

DISCLAIMER: In real life, Conrad would never have been able to secure work as an in-home care giver! At CARE GIVERS NW, all my care givers are subjected to a thorough background check and must provide proof of identity, a valid driver's license and current automobile insurance. Additionally, my care givers are trained to provide our clients with quality care such as medication reminders and assistance with Actitivies of Daily Living, but will probably be less effective in helping to salvage a failing multi-million dollar real estate development firm.

As you may have guessed, a 744-page novel ranges much farther than the simple plot I've just described. A Man in Full is a delightful parade of corrupt politicians, unscrupulous bankers, craven star athletes and other unforgettable characters of all stripes! This is Tom Wolfe at his best and you won't want to miss a word of his incisive, all-observant wit and social insight. Get an extra-strength beach bag and hoist along A Man in Full to your beach blanket and umbrella - you'll be glad you brought it with you!

Read Sandra's Other Reviews!

Rear Window • The Savages • "T" is for Trespass • Scent of a Woman

Sandra's Summer Book and Movie List

Books and Movies Featuring Care Givers

Okay, you can search high and low on eBay or Toys-'R'-Us and you won't find a single Care Givers action figure! But that doesn't mean care givers are not a part of our popular culture. The fact of the matter is that care givers are featured in many of yesterday and today's popular books and films. Summertime is here and I usually take that time of year to catch up on my reading and film-watching; I thought I'd share with you a few of my favorite books and films in which care givers play prominent roles!

Scent of a Woman (1992)

True Confessions: None of my care givers at CARE GIVERS NW look like a young Chris O'Donnell; furthermore, few of our clients look like a 1990's Al Pacino as a dashing Lieutenant Colonel. Despite this bit of harsh reality, Scent of a Woman is a charming story about Charlie (Chris O'Donnell), a young prep school student enlisted to provide respite care for Frank (Al Pacino), a blind, cynical, cantankerous ex-army officer.

The film quickly sets itself firmly on the path of a "coming of age" story, but Martin Brest's clever direction and Al Pacino's brilliant performance allows the film to transcend the genre. Charlie hasn't begun to settle into a long weekend of care-giving for Frank when he is whisked to New York City, accompanying Frank on an agenda of his own.

Charlie is on hand to witness and sometimes assist Frank as he drinks copiously, flirts smoothly, tango dances in a style worthy of the finals on "Dancing with the Stars", takes a Ferrari on a wild ride and battles to emerge from the other side of a serious crisis of faith. Charlie's help in allowing Frank to reach an epiphany of sorts, along with Frank's ultimate decision to help Charlie out of a jam in school is familiar stuff. ("Finding Forrester" comes immediately to mind.) But the on-screen chemistry between Pacino and O'Donnell combined with Pacino's snappy dialog and powerful acting make this a film well worth seeing. If you've seen it already, watch Scent of a Woman again. You'll be glad you did!

Read Sandra's Other Reviews!

Rear Window • The Savages • "T" is for Trespass • A Man in Full