(2.5 stars)
“Goodbye June” is a sweet but bland Christmas film that relies too heavily on its talented cast to make up for its narrative shortcomings — a surprising choice for actress Kate Winslet’s directorial debut, until you take note of who wrote the screenplay.
That credit belongs to Joe Anders, a first-timer who happens to be the 21-year-old son of two Oscar winners: Winslet and her ex-husband, director Sam Mendes. Inspired by the death of his grandmother (Winslet’s mother), Anders tells the story of four adult siblings (played by Winslet, Andrea Riseborough, Toni Collette and Johnny Flynn) who join their father (Timothy Spall) around Christmastime to say goodbye to the family matriarch (Helen Mirren) as she nears death of cancer at an English hospital.
As Julia, an overworked mother of three who financially provides for much of the family, Winslet also carries a lot of the film’s emotional load. She delivers a steady performance as a woman accustomed to immense responsibility, a self-assuredness attracting the jealousy of Julia’s more temperamental sister Molly (Riseborough), who lashes out as she grieves. Helen (Collette) is unpredictable in a kookier sense, spouting new-age nonsense in an effort to cope, and their only brother, Connor (Flynn), isolates in sorrow. While the siblings vary greatly in energy, Winslet as a director successfully syncs the tones of their performances.
Mirren is wonderful as the titular June, exuding a magnetic charisma without saying very much. The character’s warm presence — and gentle handling of her helpless goof of a husband, Bernie (Spall) — helps explain the extent of her children’s agony.
But as the film progresses, it becomes clear the cast is simply making the most of flimsy material. Julia and Molly’s issues aren’t substantial enough to explain why their youngest children, both toddlers, have never met each other despite living nearby. The relationship between June and Helen is so thinly written that the mother’s constant chiding of her daughter’s fashion choices ends up feeling more like bullying than playful digs. You start to wonder whether these actors agreed to star as a favor to Winslet.
For the most part, Winslet keeps up her end of the deal. She blocks scenes in a way that effectively conveys the power dynamics between siblings. She collaborates with Alwin H. Küchler (“Divergent,” “Steve Jobs”) to create a warm aesthetic that turns the cold hospital setting into a suitable environment for nostalgia and healing. In short, she does what a director is supposed to do, save for rewriting the script.
There’s nothing inherently wrong with being a nepo baby; as this movie makes clear, you can’t choose who you’re related to. But what do you do with that leg up? Winslet stated in a recent interview that Anders, who wrote the first draft of “Goodbye June” for a screenwriting course, has been self-conscious about his connections: “Joe definitely did feel like, ‘But will people just think that this only happened because you are my mother?’ I kept saying to him, ‘If the script was a piece of [crap], then yes. But it’s not.’”
She is right that the movie isn’t terrible. It contains a handful of genuinely moving moments, such as when Julia expresses to Connor how horrible it is to wait for someone you love to die. Although these scenes do not add up to anything particularly revelatory, it is clear Winslet took it upon herself to handle her son’s screenplay with great care. The brilliant actress turns out to be a competent director. She’s also a very good mom.
R. At Landmark Atlantic Plumbing Cinema; available Dec. 24 on Netflix. Contains mature language. 114 minutes.
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