Goodbye June

A deeply moving portrayal at the complex nature of feuding within family units and the importance of finding common ground. The way the generations from Grandmother to daughters and granddaughters are captured is honest, raw, beautiful and flawed - as with life. Kate does a fantastic job of crafting something that doesn't polish peoples characters but leaves the rough around the edges challenges. A powerful and heartfelt drama, and there wasn't a dry eye in the cinema after.

The best thing in the movie is Timothy Spall's scarily convincing portrayal of the semi-senile father. He's not entirely demented, at least not all the time -- he has moments of affability and affection for his wife and kids -- but he's mostly just a tiresome burden who's lost in his own world.

As you'd expect (and as all the critics agree), everyone in the cast is marvelous, and Winslet's directorial debut is perfectly fine. Except for the mysteriously underpopulated hospital, everything looks very real.

The weak point is the treacly script, by Winslet's son with Sam Mendes. It has its moments, the dialogue is sharp, but the basic story is overflowing with cringingly mawkish cliches: a preternaturally wise and saintly black nurse (named Angel), gay love blossoming, character revelations that were obvious from the start, ancient sibling feuds ending with improbable hugs, two interracial couples, even a cute Down syndrome child to pluck at the heartstrings.

At first it was all rather touching -- Christmas, deathbed, family ties -- but by the halfway point I couldn't wait for it to end.

June collapses early one morning and is rushed to hospital. Her son and two of her daughters are given the news that her health has taken a turn for the worse. Eldest daughter Helen arrives, and the siblings' deep problems quickly surface.

Most companies have the idea that Christmas films should be uplifting, heartwarming or fun. Not Netflix. Their idea of a Christmas film is a family feud at the bedside of a woman in hospital.

I didn't love it, but I did like it. For many, it'll perhaps be a little too close to home. It's reflective, almost painful, but there are some humorous moments and realistic elements too. Grief does strange things - fear and guilt can make people selfish and cruel, often forgetting the person at the centre of events.

The script is very good, with natural dialogue and interactions. June is very ill, but still sharp and full of plain speaking. Connor is adorable, a caring, sweet-natured son who's always there. I could easily have locked Molly in the operating theatre. Johnny Flynn is at his best, and fair play to Andrea Riseborough too - so good.

Helen Mirren - what can you say? Only a few months ago she was cracking murders in 'The Thursday Murder Club', looking amazing. Here she presents an entirely different character, and her acting is on another level.

I loved the scene where Jules and Molly finally have to confront one another, and the ending naturally had me in tears. Winslet, Spall, Colette - all on point. You have to credit the casting director for such a strong ensemble.

Nice to see a positive presentation of the NHS. I'm not sure Hallmark will be pinching this formula for its syrupy Christmas films next year. Perhaps it would have been better suited to a random Saturday in August.

Sad, quiet, reflective - a Christmas film very much unlike any other.

8/10.

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.