Reviewed by Rama Gaind.
Director: Roger Mitchell, Icon Film Distribution.
Here’s a poignant tale with a not-so-happy ending as a terminally ill mother arranges to bring her family together one last time before she dies.
A first-class cast has been assembled, including Academy Award-winning Susan Sarandon (Dead Man Walking, The Client), Kate Winslet and Sam Neil. Sarandon plays Lily, a woman dying of ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease, the mysterious and uncurable illness that steadily weakens muscles until even swallowing and breathing become impossible.
She lives in a beautiful house in The Hamptons in New York State with her husband Paul (Sam Neill, My Brilliant Career, Dead Calm). Lily’s family is arriving for the weekend, and it’s Thanksgiving.
First to get there is her manipulating and reliable daughter Jennifer (Winslet, Sense and Sensibility, Heavenly Creatures), her nerdy husband Michael (Rainn Wilson) and son Jonathan (Anson Boon). Then there’s Lily’s youngest daughter, the emotionally troubled Anna (Australia’s Mia Wasikowska, Alice in Wonderland, Suburban Mayhem), who just can’t seem to get it together. She unexpectedly brings her on-again, off-again romantic partner Chris (Bex Taylor-Klaus). Sibling rivalry among the adult daughters is evident. Also present is one of Lily’s oldest friends Liz (Lindsay Duncan), someone who’s been a constant presence in the family’s life.
Having the right to change her mind, Lily decides she wants a Christmas weekend instead, complete with a tree, a feast and presents. Lily has gathered the family together for one last time, because when they leave, she will take her own life.
Even though the family has been prepared for this news, each member approaches the weekend with different emotions and reactions. This family gets to deal with some long-buried issues before their mother takes the fateful last step.
Blackbird – directed by Roger Michell, who enjoyed massive success in 1999 with Notting Hill – is a remake of the 2014 Danish film Silent Heart.
Blackbird will be released on DVD and digital on 2 June.
