No. 15 (2021) BLACKBIRD February 15th.

Film No 15 (2021)  February  15th.  6:30 PM  LUNA PALACE Windsor,  Nedlands .

"Anna, Chris are you up yet? I'm dead soon, are you coming down. That should get them going!" (Lilly calls to her daughter and daughter's partner to come down stairs for breakfast).

 

You know when you buy a next to new second hand car? You've done your research and from the outside it looks to be everything you'd hoped. Then you drive it. The steering is heavy, there's a shudder as you accelerate and it just doesn't quite feel right. Well, that was how I felt about Blackbird. Everything from the poster to the trailer looked right, but there was something missing.

Blackbird is a remake of the mediocrely reviewed Danish film Silent Heart. So why did four small production companies decide to reboot an already underwhelming screenplay? I'm not sure why, the star studded cast would attract an audience, but the script is so tepid the likes of Sam Neill and Kate Winslet, in particular, seem out of place.

Susan Sarandon is Lily and she wants to die on her terms. She has a highly debilitating motor neuron disease and wants to be surrounded by her family and friend, Liz (Lindsay Duncan) for the final two days of her life. Family (no surnames) is close. Each have their issues, hence the inevitable conflicts. Daughters Jennifer (Winslet), a control freak, and Anna (Mia Wasikowska), emotionally fragile, cause Lily most angst in her final hours. It unravels like a stage play, except that the wild, West Sussex coast forms the backdrop. The scenery is a highlight!   

If you love a good old tear jerker, no matter the manipulative measures a film uses, then Blackbird will tick those boxes. Don't miss it. But if you want something extra, especially if you have access to a cinema, then Blackbird may disappoint. Here in Australia where cinemas are open for business, I'm thinking Blackbird might get a 14 day run. It will, no doubt, touch more hearts once it is streaming.  7GUMS.