By Teagan Warren
Christmas time can be the sweetest time of the year for many people, especially for the movie industry. There are many types of Christmas movies, ranging from contemplative ones like “It’s a Wonderful Life” all the way to the violent (but popular) “Die Hard.” “Goodbye June” differs from the standard Christmas movie with its heavy topic — facing the certain death of a loved one. The film felt burdensome with its subject matter, but the humor of everyday family life lightened up the film.
The film opens showing an evening at the home of married couple June (Helen Mirren) and Bernie (Timothy Spall) and their only son who lives with them, Connor (Johnny Flynn). June, who battles cancer, breathes heavily as she waits for her kettle to finish warming up. Connor hears the kettle whistle and goes into the kitchen to find June passed out. Connor calls an ambulance while his dad stands passively by, creating a pattern for their characters for the majority of the film.
Rushing to the hospital, Connor takes up the duty of making phone calls to each of his three sisters: Julia (Kate Winslet), Molly (Andrea Riseborough), and Helen (Toni Collette) urging them to come. The doctors sit the family down to let them know June’s lung cancer has spread and she does not have much time to live.
This film holds a special place in Kate Winslet’s heart, being her highly anticipated directorial debut. The screenplay is written by her real life son, Joe Anders, when he was 19, inspired by the experiences of his grandmother who suffered from cancer and passed away when he was 14.
I appreciated the variety of characters that were shown. The film did an excellent job of showing how a family can be so different yet loving. The tension between Molly and Julia is laid out in the beginning when presented with their differing family situations. Molly is a stressed-out lady with a goofy, scatter-brained husband who is not much help. Julia appears more put-together, driving her children to school before heading off to work while her husband is away on a work trip.
On the other hand, Molly is the obnoxious sister, being similar to Amy from “Little Women” in that she is quick to criticize and wants things done her way. Molly’s relationship with Julia is strained – in part because of the years spent not talking to each other. When June decides to come up with a plan to help the girls mend their relationship, the plan lacks nuance, as Molly’s one-way pettiness originally sullied the relationship.
Toni Collette plays the eccentric, earthy, hippie daughter: Helen. With her scenes, the humor is tangible, making sense of some ambiguous humor in other parts of the movie. The family learns when she arrives that she is pregnant. This creates an interesting dynamic in the film of someone coming into the world while another leaves.
Shoutout to Helen Mirren for playing the difficult role of a dying woman. She displayed June’s sense of wonder and adoration of tiny joys in life very well. Despite the fact that she is dying, she has a sense of youth in her banter and energy, especially earlier in the film. She provides peace, assurance and stability while the rest of the family stands on emotionally unsteady ground.
Likely the best part of the film is getting to witness the sisters’ children playing together and the families response towards the children. Even while Helen and Molly are not talking, their two sons make an instant connection and are very cute together.
Even if I didn’t find it encouraging, I enjoyed the film moderately well. Yet, I did not find it to resonate with me, perhaps because of my differing experiences with grief but mostly because of differing worldviews. “Goodbye June” is not a film that I will be rushing back to see, but I was able to reorient myself to the preciousness of family this Christmas season in a way that only grief can.
“Goodbye June” is currently streaming on Netflix.
Teagan Warren is a senior psychology major who enjoys daydreaming. She would like to thank Sophia Monastra for getting her into graphic novels.
Images courtesy of Netflix and Working Title Films.
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