Stanley Tucci Explores the Landscape of Love and Early Dementia

Does it make a difference that the couple — taking what may be their last vacation trip, through England's lovely, historic Lake District — are gay?

No, I don't. I think love is love.

RELATED: The Best LGBTQ Films to Stream Right Now

There has never been such a profusion of Oscar-quality films and shows about dementia: Anthony Hopkins’ The Father, Viggo Mortensen's Falling, Glenda Jackson's Elizabeth Is Missing. Why, do you suppose?

People are living longer, and so unfortunately, dementia, Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, all those things become more prevalent. There seems to be no history of it in my family, but I know people who have a history of it. And that's a very scary thing and a very hard thing to deal with.

Did you do any research for the film?

I read books, watched a lot of documentaries and met with a doctor who helps people with this condition. Louis Theroux's [2012 documentary] Extreme Love: Dementia, about people with early onset, was so good, and painful to watch — heartbreaking. But it was obviously invaluable to me as an actor; all you want to do is make it as truthful as possible.

There's pain in the film but also a surprising amount of lighthearted moments between the guys, some of which you improvised. Is that realistic?

The thing that struck me the most about the documentaries was that when these people were asked to do something — draw or write the number four, something really simple — they went, “Oh, yeah, sure,” and then they can't write the number four. And the first thing they do, almost every single person, they all started to laugh. You see that in the documentary Glen Campbell: I'll Be Me. He can't remember a word — “That word, that thing with stars” — then he laughs about it.

There's also a lot of laughter in the hit Alzheimer's documentary Dick Johnson Is Dead. But the key seems to be not just gallows humor but the way humor bonds dementia people with loved ones.

Exactly! The director set a really beautiful tone with this. They're lighthearted moments, but it's not that sort of, “Oh, now we're going to be really silly and make you laugh.” The playfulness is about loving relationships.

So the movie isn't a downer — it's about living it up as best you can as long as you can.

Without question. Dementia — it's heartbreaking. But if you look at any condition or ailment, it's part of the aging process, and if you only look at it negatively, that's just not good for anybody, is it? I hope the film helps everybody understand that, yes, dementia is a possibility, but if you're lucky enough to be in a loving relationship, that can make a big difference.