by John Tillyard, Contributing Writer
With Christmas only a couple of weeks away, siblings Connor (Johnny Flynn), Molly (Andrea Riseborough), Julia (Kate Winslet), and Helen (Toni Collette) must face up to the fact that their mother, June (Helen Mirren), has very little time left. Together with their dysfunctional father, Bernie (Timothy Spall), they must work out how to put their disagreements aside and make June’s last few days as enjoyable as possible. In the process of saying goodbye to their mother, the siblings find they may become closer as a family.
Kate Winslet makes her directorial debut and features in her first Christmas movie since The Holiday, with her son Joe Anders writing the screenplay. But unlike most Christmas movies, this one deals with quite a heavy and depressing aspect of life, facing up to the reality that a loved one is going to die. It’s an interesting route to take for this time of year, considering most stories center around feeling good about life and those around you; however, Christmas is also very much about family, and an essential aspect of any family is coming together when times are hard.
As well as being a group of siblings that don’t get along that well, Molly and Julia are also mothers. So, there is plenty of typical family conflicts on display here, in the form of family life, sibling arguments, and conflicting views on June’s situation. There is an interesting mix of personalities on display among the four siblings. Molly has a somewhat troubled mind, with four children, a rather unhelpful husband called Jerry (Stephen Merchant), and a resentful relationship with Julia. Helen, the oldest of the four, is something of a spendthrift, having left home to live a unique “new aged” lifestyle in another country. No one else in the family seems to understand her, and they resent her for leaving. Connor, meanwhile, still lives with his parents and seems uninterested in doing anything worthwhile with his time. Bernie, in particular, thinks he should get out into the world and travel somewhere.
The first ten minutes do a good job of setting up the four siblings, even if their father, Bernie, isn’t given much to do. They showcase the lives of the four of them, showing typical family life as they deal with their children and each other. The four central characters in the story are well understood, as is the situation with their mother, before June herself gets any real screentime. The only one who I didn’t feel I fully understood was Bernie; his behavior in the early part of the story suggested his mind was starting to go, but the way his children talked to him and were constantly irritated by him seemed to suggest he had always been like this. His character was written inconsistently, with many moments when he seemed to understand what was happening.
Given the morbid subject, there is plenty of humor here to lighten the mood. Most of this comes from the characters getting annoyed at small things, kids or Bernie being a little ignorant of the situation, and other characters getting frustrated. Coupled with the frustration and trauma the character experiences from the fact that a loved one is dying, it adds up to a lot of arguments. With that said, there are plenty of feel-good moments with June’s grandchildren as they prepare to perform a nativity play, and the characters work things out with one another. The sentimental factor is a little overplayed and generic in places, but it still made for some pleasant moments. Some might be confused by the mix of tones given such a grim premise set at Christmas time, but I felt the tones worked well together. The children’s Nativity performance is particularly charming, and their portrayal of the birth scene is quite original.
There isn’t a vast amount of story here; it’s just about the characters dealing with the fact that their mother and wife is going to pass away and spending as much time with her as they can. There is just something of a charm to watching characters live their lives and have the typical family feuds that would make friends fall out, but for whatever reason, bring families closer. One aspect I’ve always enjoyed about these kinds of stories are the moments when characters open up about what they are feeling; those scenes are always very relatable. However, there are no character arcs or any kind of multiple-act structure here; it’s mainly the character and their life. The nearest thing to a story arc is the rift between Julia and Molly, which is probably the weakest part of the entire narrative. Outside of Molly saying she’s always been a little envious of Julia, there isn’t any real explanation for why they don’t get along, and they wish to limit the time they spend together. The friction between them seems incredibly forced in the scenes they share. Winslet and Riseborough don’t work well together, and their argument just came across as awkward.
In general, the cast does a solid job, as would be expected from such a stacked list of names. Mirren and Spall particularly stand out, as they both bring a calmer presence to the scenes; Spall by behaving a bit dimwitted, and Mirren through her character pretending she doesn’t realize she is about to die. The four leads all do well with what they have to work with. They work well in scenes of conflict, with their dialogue overlapping and the tension intensifying; however, Flynn appears to struggle a little with the more emotional moments.
Winslet’s directing here is a little odd at times. While the use of music and the pacing of the scene are good and help sell the more tender moments, the cinematography is a bit distracting with the weird angles. There is one particular scene shot from a point-of-view angle, with the camera turning as the character turns their head, and it’s not clear what the purpose is, since nothing important happens during the shot. I’ve also never seen such a deserted British hospital, especially at Christmas time; in fact, this whole film could really have utilized extras a lot more.
Overall, Goodbye June does a good job showcasing what family life is like when dealing with something genuinely tragic and finds a good mix of emotion, touching moments, and comedy. There are possibly a few too many characters to keep track of, and as a result, a lot of them get minimal screentime. The narrative is paper-thin, but with a family story that is just life in its purest form, you don’t really need much more than that. It has a good number of moments that should give you the feels, both sad and hopeful, and I think many, myself included, will find the ending very relatable. There is a real heart at the core of this story, even if Winslet has a bit to learn as a director.
Rating: Liked It
Goodbye June is currently streaming on Netflix
You can read more from John Tillyard, and follow him on Instagram and Letterboxd