Tony Evans is deputy head of a primary school. Emma Kent is a musician and composer, and single mother of two daughters. Neither knows the other. until a startling encounter changes the course of their lives. On the same morning, these two are simultaneously confronted with a diagnosis of Parkinson’s Disease. This film is the story of Tony and Emma - a friendship which unfolds unexpectedly. A story of humour and emotion, of challenge and bravado, of music and dance - transcending the assumptions of a little understood condition, and triumphing over the odds to find joy, release and love.
The Garden Cinema View:
A moving and funny story of two strangers with Parkinson’s, diagnosed on the same morning, whose friendship turns into love.
Tracking the progression of both their relationship and their illness, Onwards and Sideways explores the complexity of the disease and the misconceptions around it, the challenges faced by patients and their families, and the healing role of the Parkinson’s community. It’s particularly surprising to see that no two people with Parkinson’s experience the same symptoms.
Although the film could easily have slipped into saccharine emotion and tidy outcomes, it somehow transcends them, feeling lived-in and, at times, brutally honest. That is partly thanks to the screenplay by Paul Mayhew-Archer who has lived with Parkinson’s since 2011, and partly to the sensitive and intelligent performances of Rhys Ifans and Laura Linney.
