Laura Chinn's semi autobiographical drama is about her living with his terminally ill brother on his last days at an hospice and her need for more attention as a teenager, considering her mother devoted all her time on the brother. During this, Doris makes friends in her class and finds solace in brief interaction with an activist, outside the hospice. Torn between having to lead her own life and simultaneously having to pause it to prioritize her brother, Laura narrates a coming of age tale about handling grief and growing up with it.
It is indeed a touching story and Nico Parker as Doris was a perfect cast and she truly stands out in the climax. However, this definitely deserved a better screenplay as well as rounded characters. Laura Linney as Kristine, is reduced to a whiney mother who is completely ignorant towards her daughter. Sure, the circumstances does convey her behavior but it comes out as way too mean. Then there is Woody Harrelson's character which randomly appears few times to share his views with Doris and it looked deliberate. What does work is the life of Doris at school and late night parties, which is the way for her to earn friends and them being actually loyal ones. I wished the dramatic scenes to have been dealt the same way with neatly presented characters.
It is indeed a touching story and Nico Parker as Doris was a perfect cast and she truly stands out in the climax. However, this definitely deserved a better screenplay as well as rounded characters. Laura Linney as Kristine, is reduced to a whiney mother who is completely ignorant towards her daughter. Sure, the circumstances does convey her behavior but it comes out as way too mean. Then there is Woody Harrelson's character which randomly appears few times to share his views with Doris and it looked deliberate. What does work is the life of Doris at school and late night parties, which is the way for her to earn friends and them being actually loyal ones. I wished the dramatic scenes to have been dealt the same way with neatly presented characters.