Suncoast

7.0/10 (Recommend)

I don't think the synopsis for this film clearly explains what this movie is about to the extent that it could. Part of me thought that it was going to be all about protests and just a surface style relationship between Doris (Nico Parker) and Paul (Woody Harrelson), but it is so much deeper than that.

While the story surrounds the brother's medical condition and another patients medical condition it isn't the focal point. The story is about a girl trying to find her place without upsetting those around her.

Nico Parker did a great job in my opinion as she went from quiet, shy, and awkward to more vocal and courageous about herself and her circumstances. Kristine played by Laura Linney was a lot easier to hate than to like, but you realize the circumstances compounded some of her decisions. The manipulation and guilt she puts on her daughter never sits right especially due to the outcome of the film.

This film is very relatable particularly if you've ever lost someone you love and care about. It gave me a gut punch as I couldn't be with my grandma at the end of her life and so the emotions of that time came back. It goes along with the phrase "say what you need to say now cause there may never be a later time to say it".

I think this film is rated 'R' for its real life portrayal of underage drinking, clubbing, drugs, and sexual innuendos. It doesn't go into the most horrendous portrayal of those acts, but because it's shown, the parental rating is higher. If you can get past that and understand that it happens in real life then this film is definitely worth watching.

That's all for now. Thank you for taking the time to read my review. Until next time.... Enjoy the show!

I wish first-time director and writer Laura Chinn could have taken greater risks with this 2024 coming-of-age drama because it felt heartfelt yet fairly predictable. It's a highly personal story set in 2005 based on Chinn's own adolescent experience of losing her teenage brother to cancer. Her fictional stand-in is Doris, a withdrawn and resentful teen constantly reprimanded by her emotionally exhausting mother Christine, who decides to move her comatose son to hospice care as he slowly succumbs to brain cancer. It turns out to be the same hospice facility where Terry Schiavo is under care, and right-to-life protestors surround the building under the scrutiny of the media. Laura Linney plays Christine as almost an older version of her controlling character in the memorable "You Can Count on Me", but she's more fearless here in her monomaniacal devotion to her son. Still, it's Nico Parker who carries the film as Doris nicely conveying both preternatural maturity and gawky angst as a social outcast looking to fit in with her new friends. Woody Harrelson plays a protestor who bonds with Doris, but the Schiavo parallels are largely unexamined and consequently Harrelson is used more as an incidental father figure.

Beautiful film. Grief is always an emotional topic to write about and portray in any form of media. There's so much that goes with it, and only those who have personally dealt with it can truly paint the right picture. The acting is all great, especially the main actor, Nico Parker, who does a great job. I saw her in The Last of Us last year, and she gets even more of a chance to prove her artistry here. It's at times difficult to get through, but there are those more lighthearted moments that delve into what it's like to be a teenager. I'm reminded of the Andrew Garfield interview he did with Stephen Colbert, where he talked about the grief he felt about his recently deceased mother. Grief is powerful, yet it is a representation of love and all that it encompasses.

Right now this movie is scoring 6.7 and I'm not sure why isn't higher.

I was so impressed with Laura Linney from the get go and her scenes with Nico Parker were often overwhelming given how good they were.

Nico, keeps the ball rolling. And it's a heavy ball so props to her.

Woody Harrelson does.. what he does and he does more than fine.

I think it was a sweet, subtle, solid rendition of a weird coming of age story. Esteeming from a very dysfunctional situation for any teenager but that really shines through the observation of the mother figure and the absurdity of having to deal with life in those terms.

I wasn't enthusiastic with the entire story, yet this still was a very good movie. Nico Parker is a gifted and beautiful young actress, and her scenes with Woody Harrelson were endearing.

The crux of this film involves Doris' mission to be independent and lead a normal life. This plan is sidelined as Doris is forced to spend overnights at the Suncoast hospice facility, where her cancer-stricken brother is on his deathbed. She has to decide whether to enjoy her teen years (i.e. Going to prom or clubbing with her preppy friend group) or spend time with her mother and brother. Seeing Doris assert her independence during this family tragedy was what made this movie worthwhile.

There were some fluff high school class/party scenes throughout the movie that didn't resonate with me. I also think having more focus on Paul's personal struggle was necessary. But I ultimately smiled right before the final credits rolled.