Cast: Helen Mirren, Timothy Spall, Johnny Flynn, Kate Winslet, Andrea Riseborough, Toni Collette, Stephen Merchant, Fisayo Akinade
Director: Kate Winslet
Rating: ★★★
Kate Winslet steps behind the camera for the first time with Goodbye June, a holiday-set family drama that arrives with prestige baked in. Written by her son Joe Anders, the film leans into the well-worn terrain of estranged relatives, unresolved wounds and a ticking clock in the form of terminal illness
The story centres on June (Helen Mirren), a sharp-tongued but affectionate matriarch diagnosed with terminal cancer just weeks before Christmas. Choosing to spend her final days in a private hospital room, June becomes the still point around which her fractured family spirals inward. Her children assemble reluctantly, carrying old resentments, quiet disappointments and lives that have drifted far from one another. As the days slip by, June gently — and sometimes strategically — nudges them toward reconciliation, determined to leave behind something resembling emotional closure before time runs out.
The good
Kate’s greatest asset as a director is her instinct for performance, and here it shows. The ensemble is uniformly strong, with Kate herself delivering a notably controlled turn as Julia, the eldest daughter weighed down by responsibility and habitually unthanked labour. Andrea Riseborough brings a raw, combustible edge to Molly, whose financial stress and emotional volatility fuel some of the film’s most charged scenes. Their confrontation, staged in the sterile gloom of a hospital corridor, crackles with lived-in resentment.
Helen anchors the film with quiet authority, offering moments of devastating stillness that cut through the surrounding sentimentality. Johnny Flynn’s withdrawn younger brother adds a softer, more internalised note, while Fisayo Akinade’s gently observant nurse provides calm guidance without overwhelming the frame. Kate’s direction is unobtrusive and fluid, allowing close-ups and silences to do the heavy lifting.
The bad
For all its sincerity, the film struggles to feel fully real. Characters often register as types rather than people, sketched broadly and pushed toward revelation by necessity rather than discovery. Several subplots feel engineered to be resolved neatly before the credits roll, and the script’s fondness for symbolic gestures — particularly in its Christmas pageantry — tips the film into saccharine territory. Toni Collette’s free-spirited sister and Timothy Spall’s emotionally unavailable father are drawn with a bluntness that undercuts the nuance elsewhere. Even death, here, feels softened, domesticated, made palatable.
The verdict
There is nothing inherently wrong with a tearjerker, and Goodbye June earns many of its emotional beats through craft and calibre alone. Yet its carefully arranged grief, polished warmth and preordained reconciliations keep it at arm’s length. Kate’s debut shows confidence and compassion, but also a reluctance to let discomfort linger. It’s a handsome, heartfelt farewell—one that reaches for truth, but settles for reassurance.
