Still Mine (2012)

This is the second movie that I have watched in the past month that features older couples and the good news for those of us in the second half of our lives is that they are still enjoying life, even when it is really hard, which in this movie it most certainly is.

Craig Morrison is set in his ways and he is getting quite old--87 when the movie starts.  His wife of 61 years, Irene, is just as stubborn and she is also very clearly more than a little forgetful.  She is still sweet, but Craig is at once irritated by her and worried about her.  And maybe a little worried for himself, because he decides to get rid of his cows when they make a break through old fencing.  His friend Chester is both annoying to him and the one who is telling him the truth, the devil on his shoulder.

Craig decides to build a small one story house with a nice view across the street on his own land.  Their house is in good shape, but the bedroom and bathrooms are upstairs and it takes too much wood to heat it.  Craig can afford to hire someone to build the house by selling land, but he doesn't want to do that, he wants to build it himself.  He is irritated to learn that he is going to need a building permit, plans for the house and a building inspector.  The inspector is just as difficult as Craig is, all by the book and with no real skills or knowledge himself to increase his flexibility.  After Irene breaks her hip and is going to have a walker, Craig goes ahead and finishes his house.  He is bucking the tide of many things, and while he isn't likable, he is admirable.