Jonathan (Garrett Hedlund), a twentysomething, chain-smoking struggling musician, has returned home to be with his dying father, Robert (Richard Jenkins), from whom he has been estranged. A very successful businessman, Dad has decided to end his life support after a 12-year battle with cancer. The film takes place during the 48 hours between Jonathan's arrival and that event, a time in which long-held grudges flare, especially Jonathan's resentment of his successful lawyer-sister (Jessica Brown Findlay). He makes friends with a mature-beyond-her-years teen cancer patient (Jessica Barden), who is terminal (apparently this helps to show Jonathan's sensitive side), but an unnecessary subplot concerns an old girlfriend (Amy Adams), who magically appears. Predictably, all is resolved as Robert's deathbed scene brings the film to a close.
VERDICT This program is not about the right to die but rather about how individuals resolve personal issues in the face of crisis. A fine cast does its best with a formula script. Not a necessary purchase.
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