Goodbye June Review: Strong Cast Brings Sentimental Christmas Story to Life

A story about your mother dying may not be the first thing you want to watch during the holidays, but it’s what Goodbye June offers. The film, directed by Kate Winslet and written by her son Joe Anders,is a sentimental story about adult children dealing with the final days of their mother’s life (June played by Helen Mirren) in the lead up to Christmas.

What saves the story from falling victim to pure melodrama is the all-star cast that make up the family. Winslet and Andrea Riseborough especially do the heavy lifting as sisters Molly and Julia who must sort out their own longstanding tension while supporting their mother.

Timothy Spall as Bernie, June’s husband and the family patriarch, gives a convincing performance that will be all too familiar to those who have watched an emotionally closed off father. Although exact sibling dynamics take up many forms in a family, the film does accurately capture the different ways people choose to deal or not deal when faced with a tragedy.

So despite the siblings not being as fleshed out as they could be, it’s still very easy to see a part of yourself (or perhaps your own siblings) in the film. It helps ground what could otherwise be an overly sappy story about death.

Fisayo Akinade as Nurse Angel (yes, that’s really their name) offers a breakout performance amongst the well-known cast, providing tender moments with June and her son Connor (Johnny Flynn). The sage nurse who’s seen it all may be a cliche, but he brings so much genuine warmth to the role you won’t roll your eyes.

There is some humor peppered in, especially at the expense of how the hospital system tends to overcomplicate and overwhelm families in their attempt to make things “easier.”

I haven’t even mentioned Toni Collette as the flighty sister Helen or Stephen Merchant as Molly’s husband, that’s how oddly incredibly stacked this holiday streaming film is in the casting department.

What’s missing from the story is June herself. We get a few scenes where she worries about how her children will be when she’s gone or even expresses a few regrets in life, but the narrative doesn’t really seem interested in how she feels about dying.

Maybe because she’s ready to go and has already made peace, and the fact she made an end of life care plan without her children’s knowledge seems to suggest so. Yet, the movie still could use some more of its titular character.

It seems like a bit of a waste of the great Helen Mirren who still does her best as the increasingly frail June as she shepherds her children into acceptance.

The ending is well executed despite the long setup, and you’d have to be a total Scrooge to not feel anything (in fact you might even shed a few tears). The grade school nativity play is a British staple and this film uses it to a heartwarming effect.

So if you’re looking for something more sincere but melancholy this season, Goodbye June is the right pick.

What did you think of Goodbye June? Share your thoughts in the comments below, and don’t forget to leave your own rating!

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Goodbye June is streaming now on Netflix. 

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