AWFJ Movie of the Week, November 3-November 9: MISS YOU ALREADY
Opening October 23, the AWFJ Movie of the Week is Miss You Already, director Catherine Hardwicke’s (Thirteen, Twilight) drama about a lifelong female friendship put to the test by serious illness starring Drew Barrymore and Toni Collette. Read on…
The title may bring to mind flippant adolescent attachments, but Miss You Already is, in fact, an astute study of adult female friendships, as seen through the intense prism of terminal illness. Transplanted American Jess (Barrymore) and Londoner Milly (Collette) have been friends since childhood, standing firm in the face of teenage traumas, university excess, marriages and kids until Milly is diagnosed with aggressive breast cancer.
While the terms of Jess and Milly’s pre-diagnosis friendship are established in the shorthand of montage and anecdotes, the enduring strength of their bond is immediately obvious – as is the utter devastation of the physical and emotional bombshell thrown into their midst.
This is thanks to Morwenna Banks’ spot-on screenplay, which mines the joyful highs and soul-searching lows of the situation, and Catherine Hardwicke’s direction, which revels in the bliss of sisterhood and unflinchingly confronts issues of mortality and loss. Indeed, it’s the film’s stark honesty that steers it well clear of melodramatic ‘movie of the week’ territory. While some sequences may, in isolation, seem heavy-handed – the girls dancing on the bleak Yorkshire moors, Milly’s messy swan-dive off the rails – in the context of their colourful, authentic friendship they feel entirely appropriate.
As Jess, Barrymore is effortlessly endearing, an unflappable voice of reason to counterbalance Milly’s increasingly wayward antics, but this is undoubtedly Collette’s film. Her performance as a vibrant woman cut short in her prime – and railing against her fate every step of the way – is inspiring, devastating and humbling. It’s true that all other characters remain squarely on the sidelines, most notably Jess and Milly’s husbands Jago (Paddy Considine) and Kit (Dominic Cooper), but this is fitting for a story so explicitly concerned with female relationships.
Indeed, it’s utterly refreshing to see such strong women defined not by their interactions with male protagonists but by their connection to each other, and Barrymore and Collette make the absolute most of this opportunity, with their palpable chemistry driving the film. Make no mistake, this is a love story as tender, passionate and powerful as any you’re likely to see.
This review was originally published by The List
AWFJ Movie of the Week Panelists Comments:
Nikki Baughan: Miss You Already is a funny, moving and refreshingly honest look at female friendship with two stellar performances from Drew Barrymore and Toni Collette. Read full review.
Nell Minow: Miss You Already — a Beaches-style exploration of women’s friendship.
Film Details:
Title: Miss You Already
Director: Catherine Hardwicke
Release Date: November 6, 2015
Running Time: 112 minutes
Language: English, English
Shooting Locations: London & Yorkshire, UK
Principal Cast: Toni Collette, Drew Barrymore, Jacqueline Bisset, Dominic Cooper, Paddy Considine
Screenwriter: Morwenna Banks
Production Companies: S Films, New Sparta Films
Distributor: Lionsgate
Trailer
AWFJ Movie of the Week Panel Members: Nikki Baughan, Anne Brodie, Pam Grady, Leba Hertz, Loren King, Cate Marquis, Katherine McLaughlin, Jennifer Merin, Nell Minow, Perri Nemiroff, Kristy Puchko, Sheila Roberts, Liz Whittemore, Jeanne Wolf.
Other Movies Opening the Week of November 3 – November 9
Edited by Sandra Kraisirideja, AWFJ.org Associate Editor
