Review of A Short Stay in Switzerland

After nursing her husband through the last throes of a hideous, debilitating disease, a woman doctor learns that she has a similar illness herself. She determines to die on her own terms, but first, she must convince her three grown children that the time is approaching for them to let her go. The title refers to an assisted suicide clinic in Switzerland, where she and her children must travel in secret, due to the harsh laws against such suicides of choice in the U.K. itself. As might be expected, the film has some heart-wrenching moments, sometimes small scenes where the woman bids goodbye to a beloved cat, as well as larger scenes, where her children say their final goodbyes to her. Based on the actual life and death of Dr. Anne Turner, the film features exquisite performances from Julie Waters as the mother, and Stephen Campbell Moore, Lyndsey Marshall, and Liz White as the three adult children. The movie is a plea for the legalization of assisted suicide and the right of everyone to die with dignity. It is not an easy movie to watch but is well worth the experience of having done so.