Now Is Good

Likely too many potential viewers will see this exquisite little film as just another Bucket List movie, but nothing could be further from the truth. Adapted by Director/Screenwriter Ol Parker form Jenny Downham's novel 'Before I Die', the film deals with delicate issues in a mature way and allows the emotional aspect of the film's theme to soar into that realm of films that deal with death in an honest and respectful way.

Tessa Scott (Dakota Fanning in a miraculous performance with a perfect British accent!) is diagnosed with leukemia. Despite her four-year devotion to chemotherapy she has discovered that her cancer is terminal and her doctors don't give her very long to live. Tessa with the help of her best friend Zoey (Kaya Scodelario) comes up with a list of things she wants to do before she dies, including some risky behaviors that she deems necessary to have "lived". Tessa's dad (Paddy Considine) is resistant to Tessa's behavior from the start but realizes he has little influence and can only enjoy the time they have left. Best friend Zoey is excited and supportive of the outrageous bucket list until an unplanned pregnancy test comes up positive. Tessa's parents are divorced and have very different views on her desire to experience the dangerous side of life before she passes. Her mother (Olivia Williams) simply cannot deal with the diagnosis and copes by distancing herself from Tessa's activities and is more or less absentee in her role as a mother. Her father's main mechanism for coping is denial. Tessa mentions that he spends hours on the computer looking up possible treatments for her even after the doctors have told her that the cancer has consumed her body. Tessa's little brother Cal (Edgar Canham) is a brutally honest individual that has mixed feelings ranging from lack of care to jealousy to sadness. In the beginning of the novel Cal says to his sister "I'm gonna miss you" during a joking situation. One of Tessa's last wishes is to find love, of which she thinks she has with her neighbor Adam (Jeremy Irvine whose performance here is as fine as his War Horse role). Adam is shy and his main priority is taking care of his sickly mother after their father died. But Tessa's gradually breaks through Adam's fears and the two fall in love, Adam promising to stay with Tessa until the end. The film follows her last few months of life, explores her relationships with her loved ones, and her personal feelings about being trapped in a failing body. The film is tenderly brought to a credible and touching close - everyone has grown to appreciate that 'now is good'.

Dakota Fanning rises to new heights in her sensitive portrayal and her skills are matched by inimitable performances by Paddy Considine, Olivia Williams, Jeremy Irvine, Kaya Scodelario and a superb supporting cast. This is a very beautiful film that begs to be seen and understood. Never sanguine, it is just an honest piece of life - and death.

Grady Harp

My friend recommended this movie to me with a warning of you're going to need tissues. Let me just say, I don't cry watching movies, but this, honestly I have never cried so much. It was an amazing movie portraying the different emotions felt by the family. It wasn't just about a girl fulfilling her bucket list, but about falling in love, others being her rock and her being other peoples rock when they needed it the most and how the smallest things have such a big impact. The tenderness of the relationships was beautiful. Dakota Fanning did an amazing job as did Jeremy Irvine. What a wonderful and beautiful way to portray young love in such a sad situation. Would highly recommend this movie.

American Dakota Fanning leads the cast in this British production about a teen terminally ill from leukemia who wants to crowd all she can in the months or maybe weeks she has remaining. Prominent on the list is that she wants to lose her virginity.

Bring some industrial strength Kleenex to the theater because you'll need it. Fanning gives a sincere and somewhat restrained performance considering the circumstances. Her parents Paddy Considine and Olivia Williams also do well.

If I was going to have a first and last love I couldn't do much better than young James Irvine who scored very big Steven Spielberg's The War Horse. He's the perfect handsome and sensitive youth that anyone would fall for. His role is a supporting one, yet you'll remember him as much as you do Fanning.

Although her British accent could have used some improvement and I suspect that she was cast so that the film could draw some dollars in the American market, Fanning is just fine in the role. You'll not soon forget her in Now Is Good.

First of all, don't worry, I won't spoil anything about this film because I'm too lazy to summarise the plot since it has been already summarised by many other reviewers.

I have read the book and watched this film twice, and here is my final review on this film: - very well abridged and modified. - very well acted by all actors, especially by Dakota Fanning. I am not British but I am quite familiar with some British accents by watching many British TV series and listening to British youtubers. And as far as I can say, Dakota's British accent seems to be quite flawless. Of course, if you're British, you are welcome to disagree with me.

The only minus point: I am still wondering if Olivia's blonde wig was necessary. Or maybe she should have dyed her hair to make it look more natural. But even if those two actors (Olivia and Dakota) had kept their natural hair colours, the film would still have worked because the script was perfectly written.

There is no doubt she is one of our finest young actresses, but Dakota succeeds in a very important area of film acting.....the camera eats her up. Her haunting eyes draw you in, and her characters are the better for it. She has grown into a beauty, and one hopes the often fatal hubris of Hollywood will pass her by. The fact that she and her co-star were in Spielberg movies is testament to their talent and validity. I wish them both great fortune and longevity in that sorry business. Yes, this plot has been done to death, but there is a realism in the details of dying that make this a great film. My only critique is not really a critique, but the mother's character, as played by the fine Olivia Williams, is very disconcerting.....a disturbing portrait of a very flawed person. I may buy the DVD, nonetheless.....highly recommended.