December Flower

In December Flower, a woman comes to visit her sick aunt, and she stays to help take care of her. When I first started watching this movie, I thought Jean Simmons would play the sick aunt, since the movie was made in 1984. Surprisingly enough, she plays the niece! Both she and her aunt, played by Mona Washbourne, give excellent performances, but I'm giving you a fair warning, this is a hard film to watch. Mona is bedridden, very ill, and in some scenes catatonic, and this movie doesn't shy away from the difficulties of caring for someone in that condition. It's not graphic, but this is a very emotional movie.

If you like the type of movie that brings hope to someone in their eleventh hour, you'll probably want to watch this one and bring your Kleenexes. As a bonus, you'll see a very young Jim Carter, better known for his role as Mr. Carson in Downton Abbey!