THE LEISURE SEEKER begins with Carole King and ends with Janis Joplin and in between there’s a clutch of songs that represents the soundtrack of the lives of Ella and John, who are making one last cross country trip in their old Winnebago, The Leisure Seeker.

John is suffering dementia, Ella has cancer, and spurred by a dormant, subversive spirit, rebellion against a hospitalisation which is being forced on them by doctors, their children, and social and medical regulations, this retired literature professor from New England, and his wife from South Carolina, take off on what could be their final road trip, destination: the Hemingway House in Key West.

The glue of this film are the central performances by Donald Sutherland and Helen Mirren.

Sutherland, sporting a Hemingway beard, is perfect as the literature loving academic whose lucidity is fleeting but loquacious when talking about his hero. He used to be faculty guru now he losing his faculties, an old man at sea with his memories.

Mirren is also garrulous, loves chatting to folks in caravan parks, cafes and camp sites. She could talk the leg off a table, whereas he risks mistaking a table leg for something to eat

The film is at its most poignant when John’s confusion sometimes gives way to flashes of lucidity and in those moments we realize his charm and how painful it must be for Ella to be gradually losing her husband.

THE LEISURE SEEKER is about seeking quality of life at journey’s end .

As well as the popular songs of their era, THE LEISURE SEEKER has a beautiful score by Carlo Virzi

Directed by Paolo Virzi, who made the fabulous Like Crazy a couple of years ago, THE LEISURE SEEKER, is a pleasure for adult audiences seeking a well told tale of enduring love.