Winslet’s ‘Goodbye’ is like death warmed over
Three things are certain in life: death, taxes and Helen Mirren. And with Kate Winslet’s directing debut, Netflix’s “Goodbye June,” we’re treated to two of them. And Mirren is responsible for both, portraying the not-long-for-this-world matriarch of a middle-class British family whose Christmas takes a somber turn after our titular character enters the hospital one last time. In a private room, no less! And one big enough to accommodate the presence of co-stars the size of Toni Collette, Timothy Spall, Andrea Riseborough, Johnny Flynn and Winslet herself.
They, along with “The Office” co-creator, Stephen Merchant, all portray members of June’s decidedly dysfunctional family. Each is designed to be so aggrieved that it feels more like Festivus than Noel. June’s husband, Bernie (Spall), appears perturbed that her impending doom is interfering with his three major pastimes, football, sleeping and consuming lager. Their two youngest daughters, clueless Julia (Winslet) and bitter Molly (Riseborough) can barely stand the sight of each other. Their eldest, free-spirited Helen (Collette), is unmarried and in a family way. And lone son, Connor (Flynn), is an emotional wreck, even before he gets the news about Mom.
If these all sound like “types,” you’re not mistaken. In fact, the entire, cliche-riddled script is beneath this gaggle of A-listers. So, why are they here? In one word: nepotism. Yes, “Goodbye June” springs from the mind of Joe Anders, the son of Winslet and her then husband, “Skyfall” director Sam Mendes. Anders was all of 19 when he began penning the thing. And it shows.
Very little of what transpires rings true; every relationship reeks of contrivance, with characters who all miraculously transform in the midst of third-act epiphanies. If Joe Blow had crafted it, the screenplay would have likely been rejected on its roteness alone. But given Anders’ parentage, it not only gets green-lit, but it also gets stockpiled with a cast that would make Christopher Nolan envious. Thank God for Mom’s favors and friends!
Good thing they are here, though, because one can only imagine how much worse it might have been without them. That goes double for Mirren, who must really owe Winslet a lot to waste such a fantastic performance on a film this unworthy. She single-handedly pumps life into a maudlin affair that seems to drag on and on to the point that you want June to die already. To underscore just how dynamic Mirren is in the role, when June does croak, you can fully sense the character’s absence.
The only other actor in the same area code is Flynn, fantastic as the doting son whose whole world revolves around June. She not only gave him life, but she also taught him a level of compassion absent in his siblings. His scenes with Mirren are powerful, but he’s even better opposite Mom’s head nurse, bearing the on-the-nose moniker of Angel. He’s played to perfection by Fisayo Akinade, an actor I’ve not seen prior but hope to see a lot more of. The two men have so much chemistry that their budding attraction toward one another provides some of the film’s true, genuine moments.
The less said about Winslet, Riseborough and especially Collette, who seems to have wandered in from a different movie, the better. At least Riseborough’s Molly has fire in her belly. The way she deservedly admonishes June’s insensitive docs is beyond cathartic. She also has a sweet scene with Winslet’s Julia in which Molly pours her heart out, expressing how abandoned she felt when the big sister she worshipped as a child no longer had time for her. But the power of it is undercut by how their rift is completely mended in a single intimate display of honesty.
Winslet and son also could have used a less lenient editor than Lucia Zucchetti, who lets scenes run too long. She also should have persuaded Winslet to completely axe the ridiculous nativity play presented for June by her seven grandkids and dufus son-in-law, Jerry (Merchant). The intent is sweet, but the execution is embarrassing and should have been left on the cutting room floor.
A much more attune Christmas miracle is Mirren. Despite spending a majority of the movie on her back, she is never less than captivating, displaying passion, bravery and an incredible tolerance for the nincompoop characters surrounding her tiny hospital bed. She and June share a shrewdness that convinces you that they are always the smartest, wisest people in the room. But Mirren can only do so much before June, and the movie carrying her name, succumbs to an incurable illness. Apathy.
Movie review
Goodbye June
Rated: R for language
Cast: Helen Mirren, Kate Winslet, Andrea Riseborough, Toni Collette, Timothy Spall and Johnny Flynn
Director: Kate Winslet
Writers: Joe Anders
Runtime: 114 minutes
Where: Currently in theaters before premiering on Netflix on Dec. 24
Grade: C
