Other People

Be careful - this film might just break your heart ! It took me a while to warm to this, totally unspectacular and unpolished as it first appears. It just observes a family's interactions as the mother is slowly dying from cancer, with the focus on the young gay son who has come back home to help look after her. At times it feels hardly like a 'movie', there is such a sense of simple observation. There were moments where it almost seemed to be a documentary and I felt like I was eavesdropping on a real family's real pain and grief. Increasingly I became aware of the film being rich with ever-so-subtle elements, easily missed, gradually deepening an atmosphere of great authenticity. It is a sad film, but also (astonishingly) with a wonderful sense of wry humour and real warmth. A million miles away from Hollywood, this gem could be easily overlooked. Don't !

Other People (2016/I) was written and directed by Chris Kelly. It stars Jesse Plemons as David, a young, gay, NYC comedy writer who is having the worst year imaginable. His mother is dying from a rare cancer, and he has broken up with his gay partner of five years. (Plemons is an very talented actor, who acts his role well.) David moves back home to Sacramento, to be with his family and help care for his mother. Molly Shannon portrays David's mother, Joanne. Joanne is clearly a wonderful person, attacked by a cruel illness that is taking her life rapidly and inexorably.

David is an immense help to his mother as she moves back and forth between fighting the disease and giving in to the disease. Unfortunately, she loses either way. Joanne's struggle with cancer is really the core plot of the movie.

The scene in which Joanne goes back to the elementary school where she was a teacher, and meets with her old friends, and with her replacement, is superb. It's worth watching the film for that scene alone.

An important additional plot of the movie is that David's father will not accept the fact that his son is gay. He is willing to "debate it" with David. However, as David points out, there's really nothing to debate. He's gay, and that's the way it is.

We saw this film at Rochester's excellent Little Theatre as an opening night selection of Image Out, the outstanding 24th Annual LGBT festival. It will work well on the small screen. It's definitely worth seeking out and seeing.

This film carries a terrible 6.1 rating from IMDb reviewers. This is a case where I say, "Did anyone else see the same movie that I saw?" Ignore the rating, see Other People, and judge for yourself.

IMDb.com classifies this 2016 film as a comedy/drama. Well there are one or two laughs but they are of the nervous variety. The focus here is on drama. A struggling comedy writer, played by Jesse Plemons is fresh off a breakup and in the midst of the worst year of his life. He returns to Sacramento, to the bosom of his family to care for his dying mother, Molly Shannon in an outstanding performance.

Train's "Drops of Jupiter" features several times during the movie; the lyrics of which deal with someone dying. Lead singer Patrick Monahan has stated that the song was inspired by his late mother, who had died after a struggle with cancer. It is apt.

Other People is writer Chris Kelly's first big screen outing as director. He is also currently an Emmy-nominated Co-Head Writer at "Saturday Night Live". Other People debuted at the Sundance Film Festival in 2016. Molly Shannon won Best Supporting Female at the 2017 Film Independent Spirit Awards while Jesse Plemons was nominated for Best Male Lead; Chris Kelly for Best First Screenplay and all deservedly so.

Above all this is a human drama. Multi-layered, the story is about the illness and death of the family's mother from cancer. It also deals with the father's reaction and his lack of acceptance of his son being gay. To borrow a line from Captain Kirk in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan – "how we deal with death is at least as important as how we deal with life"

Have the tissues ready.

A solid 4 out of 5.

Didn't have high hopes since this film was available on iTunes before or at the same time as it was in theaters (was it even IN theaters?) but holy heck this was GOOD.

Shannon and Plemmons performances are amazing. Both so convincing in their respective role. Plemmons plays the insecure, unsure, chubby gay man perfectly. And Molly Shannon, who is rarely called upon for nuance, delivers her role as a cancer-stricken woman with such realistic subtlety that you'd be hard-pressed to say she'd never gone through it herself.

Is the concept maudlin? I suppose. It's not new ground, but it's a completely unique take on the situation with a subtext and performances that propel it to greatness. The opening scene is sad, but the end of the film is so much more sad. I can't say more without posting a spoiler, but when you see it you'll realize it's a testament to the directorial approach, script and performances.

With regard to performances, this film probably doesn't have the promotional machine behind it to ever be considered for awards, but if all things were equal and films were judged solely on themselves, I think both Plemmons and Shannon would be recognized for their exceptional performances.

Definitely worth the rental price. And I'm sure it will be free to view soon on some streaming site. Settle in and watch this fabulous, nuance-filled film.

This is not an easy movie to watch if you recently lost a family member to cancer. Then again, that probably says something about just how true the storytelling is here. Anybody who's gone back home under tough circumstances or claimed to be fine when they aren't or lost a loved one or found the humor in the most tragic moments possible (so basically anyone) will watch this movie and nod their head. It misses the mark at moments, but it also hits it more often than not, party thanks to amazing performances by Shannon and Plemons. And that's how we ended up chuckling through tears. Which seems pretty appropriate for us this year, honestly.