Blackbird (B or 3/4 stars)
Feisty architect Lily (Susan Sarandon) & her doctor husband, Paul (Sam Neill), have invited their family & a special friend to their sprawling Connecticut beach home to spend a fateful weekend together in 'Blackbird' (a drama written by Christian Torpe, directed by Roger Michell (Notting Hill) & based on a 2014 Danish film). The guests are all there to bid farewell to Lily who is suffering from the end stages of ALS. Already having lost some movement in her hand, leg & throat, and, rather than facing the indignities of further decline ... she has decided to end her life on Sunday eve; Paul has obtained the lethal cocktail for this assisted suicide. To alleviate some of the tension, Lily has planned a Yuletide dinner & gift giving to her anxious guests.
Lily's two daughters, Jennifer (Kate Winslet), a somewhat uptight, controlling freak, & Anna (Mia Wasikowska), who has had some emotional problems, squabble over their mom's choice of euthanasia. Jennifer reluctantly wants to honor her mother's decision, while Anna - who wants more time to get to know her mother - is not ready to let go yet. Other guests express their reactions to what will take place, including: Jennifer's milquetoast husband, Michael (Rainn Wilson); their teen son Jonathan (Anson Boon), who appreciates the chance to have a private chat with his grandma during which he reveals a secret; Anna's on-again/off-again girlfriend (Bex Taylor-Klaus), who, as an outsider, is more perceptive about what is going on than most of the rest; and finally, Liz (Lindsay Duncan), Lily's lifelong friend, also has a revelation that is sure to rock the boat. The weekend is full of reflection, memories & love, but also contains a powder keg of spiky emotions.
Director Roger Michell avoids the usual pitfalls of melodrama that comes with the sort of the twists & turns that occur in the plot. Instead, while Lily tries hard to maintain her schedule of carrying out the suicide by Sundays' end, these long-held secrets, newfound objections & other personality battles felt relatively authentic. The centerpiece of the film {and its drama} comes at Saturday's Christmas dinner. What starts celebratory & warm devolves into something harsher that ignites some key dramatic moments. And cinematically, though much of this 8-people-in-a-house screams 'stage play', Michell does a good job moving his camera in, out & all around the setting of the house & the gorgeous, picaresque exteriors {portentous skies, the ocean, etc}.
Susan Sarandon is excellent here as the determined ALS patient trying to to keep it together physically & emotionally amid the trying circumstances. Every poignant acting choice she made struck a chord with me. Sam Neill is warm & understanding as Paul, hell bent to help his ailing wife in a state that does not support the right to die; wish this charismatic actor was given a little more to do, though, other than looking downcast. Kate Winslet is solid as controlling Jennifer. Mia Wasikowska impresses as the nervy & vulnerable Anna; these two actresses play well off of each other. Lindsay Duncan aids the proceedings as Liz, a woman whose revelation threatens to sink the weekend. Everyone in the cast-of-8 brings something to the table.
'Blackbird' is about Liz trying to keep her dignity intact through the controversial, finite action that she has chosen to face. Her ailment would end in an agonizing, prolonged demise. And one should respect one's decision to go out on their own terms. I found this film to be compulsively watchable. Yes, the upper-middle class setting (Chichester, England subbing for Connecticut} felt all too familiar. Yes, some plot elements felt contrived. The stately seriousness of matters is sometimes interrupted by moments of awkward levity. And some acting 'choices' by the cast felt forced. But on the whole, despite the downbeat trajectory of the narrative, I was emotionally engaged throughout the difficult subject matter & the minefield of family dynamics.
Lily's two daughters, Jennifer (Kate Winslet), a somewhat uptight, controlling freak, & Anna (Mia Wasikowska), who has had some emotional problems, squabble over their mom's choice of euthanasia. Jennifer reluctantly wants to honor her mother's decision, while Anna - who wants more time to get to know her mother - is not ready to let go yet. Other guests express their reactions to what will take place, including: Jennifer's milquetoast husband, Michael (Rainn Wilson); their teen son Jonathan (Anson Boon), who appreciates the chance to have a private chat with his grandma during which he reveals a secret; Anna's on-again/off-again girlfriend (Bex Taylor-Klaus), who, as an outsider, is more perceptive about what is going on than most of the rest; and finally, Liz (Lindsay Duncan), Lily's lifelong friend, also has a revelation that is sure to rock the boat. The weekend is full of reflection, memories & love, but also contains a powder keg of spiky emotions.
Director Roger Michell avoids the usual pitfalls of melodrama that comes with the sort of the twists & turns that occur in the plot. Instead, while Lily tries hard to maintain her schedule of carrying out the suicide by Sundays' end, these long-held secrets, newfound objections & other personality battles felt relatively authentic. The centerpiece of the film {and its drama} comes at Saturday's Christmas dinner. What starts celebratory & warm devolves into something harsher that ignites some key dramatic moments. And cinematically, though much of this 8-people-in-a-house screams 'stage play', Michell does a good job moving his camera in, out & all around the setting of the house & the gorgeous, picaresque exteriors {portentous skies, the ocean, etc}.
Susan Sarandon is excellent here as the determined ALS patient trying to to keep it together physically & emotionally amid the trying circumstances. Every poignant acting choice she made struck a chord with me. Sam Neill is warm & understanding as Paul, hell bent to help his ailing wife in a state that does not support the right to die; wish this charismatic actor was given a little more to do, though, other than looking downcast. Kate Winslet is solid as controlling Jennifer. Mia Wasikowska impresses as the nervy & vulnerable Anna; these two actresses play well off of each other. Lindsay Duncan aids the proceedings as Liz, a woman whose revelation threatens to sink the weekend. Everyone in the cast-of-8 brings something to the table.
'Blackbird' is about Liz trying to keep her dignity intact through the controversial, finite action that she has chosen to face. Her ailment would end in an agonizing, prolonged demise. And one should respect one's decision to go out on their own terms. I found this film to be compulsively watchable. Yes, the upper-middle class setting (Chichester, England subbing for Connecticut} felt all too familiar. Yes, some plot elements felt contrived. The stately seriousness of matters is sometimes interrupted by moments of awkward levity. And some acting 'choices' by the cast felt forced. But on the whole, despite the downbeat trajectory of the narrative, I was emotionally engaged throughout the difficult subject matter & the minefield of family dynamics.