Goodbye June

Goodbye June - a quiet, moving watch

This film had been on my list for a while, so on one of those in-between, no-man's-land days between Christmas and New Year felt like the perfect time to watch it. I'd listened to several podcasts with Kate Winslet talking about her directorial debut, and, well, it's Kate Winslet. A deeply loved actor with an impressive backlog of brilliant work.

This one didn't disappoint.

It's beautifully directed, with themes most of us can relate to and empathise with. There's humour alongside sadness, kindness alongside raw, unfiltered moments - life, really.

One scene in particular stayed with me: her sitting on the floor outside her mother's hospital room with her brother, completely wiped out, hungry, trying to hold it together for her toddler son asleep on her, while quietly battling her own deep sadness. That moment really got me - probably because it felt so painfully familiar and human.

A gentle, honest film that lingers long after the credits roll. Great performances by all involved.

Calling Goodbye June "contrived" or reducing the film to a 'two-hour John Lewis ad' isn't insight; it's a refusal to engage, dressed up as wit. Films like this are not trying to outsmart the audience; they are trying to sit with people at their most exposed. For families navigating terminal illness, loss and grief, familiarity isn't a failure of imagination but a form of care. Hope and emotional legibility are easy to sneer at from a critical distance, much harder to dismiss when you recognise them as the small, steady beams of light people cling to when real life offers very few.

Well done to Kate Winslet on a strong directorial debut. And of course her acting was just right, restrained and yet as always, generous, so that you connect with the character. Really good performances from a stellar cast. And how Kate Winslet directed those kids was a feat in itself. I think the script was ok, I had a flashback of Finding Neverland where the children put on a show for the terminally ill character played by Winslet. None- the-less there are so many terrible xmas movies around that this was worth watching. I look forward to seeing more of Winslet'a directing. PS the editing was really good - a snotty journalist likened the film to an extended John Lewis advert - well, their editing is impeccable too.

When your mom is Kate Winslet, you get a couple of shortcuts to the opportunity doors, no doubt about it. Such is the case for the writer of this movie, her own son. And when you add to that her influence to enlist some of the top talent on the planet, including Dame Helen Mirren herself, you have a leg or two up on other start-ups. Not to mention throwing her money into the hat as co-producer of the project and enjoying a major press tour to promote it.

That being said and considered, the kid did a decent job with the script! Whoever decides to watch this movie is aware of the premise so it doesn't feel fair to critique that premise after the fact, in my opinion.

Each actor brought a uniqueness to their roles and it did emerge beyond the Hallmark saccharine level quite adequately. As the mother of 3 girls and 1 boy who are now adults, I could relate to a lot of it, and by the end of the movie, we are left with hope, and appreciation for what we have.

Exceptional performances of very relatable characters. It's a beautiful depiction of the relentless quest of a mother to unite her family! Laughter and tears will flow, but thankfully in equal enough measure not to be exhausting. This is not the sort of film that will keep you guessing, but neither is it a cliché, rather it delivers a well balanced emotional reality. Highly recommend.