Michael Maren’s ‘A Short History of Decay’ was suggested for me on Amazon Prime, and sometimes I toil too much on what to watch, I just press play without thinking.  I saw that this had Linda Lavin and that alone was reason enough for me to keep on watching. The story revolves around Nathan, played by Bryan Greenberg, who goes to Florida to visit his parents after his father suffers a stroke. There he is confronted by the fact that his parents are starting to get to a place where they are slowly disintegrating – his mother’s Alzheimer’s is not getting better, and they have to start making decisions as to what the next chapter will be – there is talk of going to a assisted living facility for both elders. This is such a sweet film that you cannot help but like it, and maybe it was a little sentimental for me. I got reminded of a time when I, too, had to make sacrifice for my father, and in hindsight, was one of the best life choices I ever made. I loved the naturalistic feel of the film, the cast is so in tune with each other it wasn’t hard to imagine them being a real family. Greeneberg was good (I get hot and cold on him)  and Lavin was excellent, of course, shining in the little that was given her. This is a thoughtful, contemplative story, and if you have elderly parents, you will surely identify.