Goodbye June review: Kate Winslet’s directorial debut will hit you in the feels
If you’re in the mood for a weep this Christmas, let me steer you towards Kate Winslet‘s directorial debut Goodbye June.
Written by her son Joe Anders, Goodbye June follows four siblings – Helen (Toni Collette), Julia (Winslet), Molly (Andrea Riseborough) and Connor (Johnny Flynn) – as they rally around their mother June (Helen Mirren) after she suffers a setback in her cancer battle and returns to hospital. They have to effectively put their lives on hold when they learn that this is it, and she probably won’t make it to Christmas in a few weeks.
Each sibling is very different. Helen is a spiritual person who lives in America, Julia is a working mum who has so much on her plate that she looks ready to explode, Molly is a stay-at-home mum with four kids and a beef with Julia, and Connor is a sweet young man who still lives at home and just wants his older sisters to put their BS to one side and come together for June. Then there’s also June’s husband Bernie (Timothy Spall), who is not processing the news well, and a lovely nurse named Angel (Fisayo Akinade).
As someone from a big family, I thought Winslet really nailed the chaos of everyone descending on one room (there’s seven grandkids as well) and how everyone has a different relationship with each other and their parents. Obviously, they can’t dig into all of those otherwise the film would go on forever (it’s already a bit too long as it is) so Julia and Molly’s estrangement takes centre stage and Helen’s love life is a big cause for discussion. This means Connor is pushed aside and doesn’t have much of an identity other than being there for June and trying to make everyone get along.
This is a fictional story inspired by the death of Winslet’s mother in 2017, and I could tell that it comes from a very real place (although perhaps a privileged one as June has her own hospital room). I’ve visited loved ones in hospital on and around Christmas a few times, and I’ve lost a parent to cancer, so this deeply resonated with me. I liked how the family laughed and focused on happy times despite the circumstances – you have to – and did what they could to make the space feel less depressing. There are a few diversions from realism – for example, it’s unlikely June would be that lucid on morphine – but this is a film, and they’re trying to make it as cinematic, sentimental and impactful as possible.
The standouts were Winslet, who is unbelievably stressed and feeling the burden of the family financially depending on her. I have so much respect for her pulling double duty and delivering this performance. I also loved Mirren’s June, who is taking the news in stride and trying to keep things as calm and peaceful as possible.
If I had seen Goodbye June at home, I would have sobbed wholeheartedly and not stopped for a while. As I was in public, I managed to do very well and keep a lid on my emotional response with just a lump in my throat. Yes, it’s a tearjerker, but in a sweet rather than depressing way, as it’s more about a family coming together in a time of crisis.
In selected cinemas from Friday 12th December and on Netflix from Christmas Eve