In her directorial debut, Kate Winslet brings her son Joe Andres’ story to life about four semi-estranged siblings reuniting over their mother’s illness over the Christmas holiday. Failure-to-launcher Connor (Johnny Flynn) lives at home with his mum and dad, June (Helen Mirren) and Bernie (Timothy Spall), and a couple of weeks before Christmas, June takes ill. Connor calls his three sisters, cranky and jealous Molly (Andrea Risenborough), successful but unhappy Julia (Winslet), and free-spirited New Agey Helen (Toni Collette), who all arrive with their respective emotional baggage. (114-min.)
Goodbye June
What’s it rated? R
What’s it worth, Anna? Matinee
What’s it worth, Glen? Matinee
Where’s it showing? Netflix
Glen: Everyone deals with grief, even impending grief, in their own way, and Goodbye June is a rumination on processing grief as well as a tender examination of complex family dynamics. The threat of maudlin cliché is real! Both Winslet and Joe Anders (Winslet’s son with director Sam Mendes) are making their directing and writing debuts, respectively, and they’re working in familiar family drama territory. Yes, there are some missteps and implausibility, but hey, it’s a Christmas movie about a family coming together in their shared time of need. It’s a bit cheesy, but most emotional moments ring true, and Winslet has amassed an impressive list of British A-listers to bring the overly sweet story to life. The acting is amazing.
Anna: Mirren’s June has battled cancer before, and unfortunately the last-ditch effort at chemo left her worse for wear. She doesn’t have long, and while the doctors have broken the news to the family, her kids can’t tell whether she’s in denial or not. She declines going home or to one of her children’s homes for her last act, and in doing so, she decides on a central destination for everyone’s lives in the time remaining—by her hospital bed. Molly and Julia are especially at odds, and while the reasons why remain murky for most of the film, we do get reasons for their hurt toward the end. The list of actors in this film is stunning, and—sure—it may hit a bit on the sentimental side, but the best Christmas movies do. I applaud Winslet for taking on this project.
Glen: It’s certainly an assured directorial debut. Winslet’s been in front of the camera for so long and worked with so many great directors that she’s clearly absorbed how to set up a shot and create effective pacing. At first, the film felt a little slow, but it’s worth sticking with it because by the second act, the pacing felt just right. In addition to Molly and Julia, the story busies itself with Connor and his complicated feelings for his dad, not to mention Bernie’s own difficulties preparing for a life without June. Connor thinks his dad doesn’t care, but Bernie has his own way of coping. The real wild card is Helen, who feels her life slipping away. She’s a spiritual guide by trade, but her own spirit needs guidance. In a sweet touch, Molly and Julia’s kids bring June end-of-life joy, and though some of it struck me as implausible, I found the film touching. Put the jaded part of your heart on pause and soak up this bit of holiday treacle.
Anna: You see true joy and sorrow in these performances, and with Mirren especially. It must be odd to know your timeline is so short, to tidy up the last bits of life that you can. That’s what June wishes for most—for her family to be OK when she’s gone, to not be the one tether between them all. When Molly and Julia finally have an airing of grievances, it feels so poignant. They’re both mad at each other for things the other cannot change, for the way life unfolds, and for the paths they chose. It’s sentimental and sad but ultimately a heartwarming journey through the hardest part of life.
Arts Editor Glen Starkey and freelancer Anna Starkey write Sun Screen. Comment at gstarkey@newtimesslo.com.
This article appears in January 1 – January 8, 2026.