Stream It Or Skip It: ‘Blackbird’ On Demand, An End-of-Life Drama Starring Susan Sarandon, Kate Winslet & A Stacked Ensemble

End-of-life dramas are a tough thing to crack; they’re often too soapy, too heavy, or too inauthentic-feeling. Very few filmmakers attempt it – especially when it comes to stories involving assisted suicide. Blackbird, now streaming on demand, boldly accepts the challenge, and with a cast as stacked as this one, things seem promising. We’re here to let you know if it’s worth the inevitable box of tissues. 

BLACKBIRD: STREAM IT OR SKIP IT?

The Gist: Lily (Susan Sarandon) is ready to die – and her doting husband Paul (Sam Neill) is going to help her do it. Her ALS is still somewhat manageable, but she doesn’t want to live a life where she has no control and is reliant on others, so she’s going out her own way. To mark the end of her life, she invites her daughters Jennifer (Kate Winslet) and Anna (Mia Wasikowska), their respective partners Michael (Rainn Wilson) (as well as Jennifer and Michael’s teen son Jonathan) and Chris (Bex Taylor-Klaus), and her best friend Liz (Lindsay Duncan). The whole family gathers together at their picturesque beach house for this strange, somber event, but as in any family melodrama, things do not go as smoothly as planned.

Everyone seems to have their own feelings about Lily’s choice – and about the family in general. Anna’s got more demons than she lets on, Jennifer is such an uptight perfectionist that she can’t seem to have any fun (even for her mom’s sake), and Lindsay and Paul have a secret of their own. They might have gathered to say their goodbyes, but everyone ends up saying a lot more than that – and then some.

What Movies Will It Remind You Of?: There aren’t too many family dramas about assisted suicide out there, but Blackbird certainly feels in line with other end-of-life dramas like Terms of Endearment and getting-the-family-back-together flicks like August: Osage County and This Is Where I Leave You.

Performance Worth Watching: Newcomer Anson Boon turns a pretty common role into something memorable; as Jennifer and Michael’s teen son Jonathan, he doesn’t go full angsty teen or wallflower. Boon plays him in a way that feels wholly authentic, delivering something equal parts sensitive and blunt, conflicted and perceptive. He even manages to gracefully drive home a moment that might have otherwise been cringeworthy – and it ends up being one of the more endearing in the film. With other flicks like 1917 and Crawl already under his belt, the future looks bright for the young performer.

Memorable Dialogue: Blackbird boasts some great little nuggets (and its share of cliche lines about life), but I quite enjoyed the levity of one of Lily’s last lines: “Just don’t let me die with my mouth open.”

Sex and Skin: There’s a little cathartic boathouse romp between Jennifer and Michael, but not much else.

Our Take: What a frustrating film. I really wanted to love Blackbird; while the death of a loved one may be difficult subject matter, this stacked cast and simple premise seemed promising. Unfortunately, the script is so unfocused and the direction so overly theatrical that the film never really gets the chance to fly as it should. For the first act or so, things seem to go well; the character introductions are thoughtful, and the overall tone of the piece is pretty clear. This doesn’t last long, however, and most of the work done in the first act is undone by the time we hit the halfway mark. The twists and turns that follow feel unearned and hollow despite the actors’ best efforts.

Sarandon anchors the film with her lived-in performance, perfectly embodying the beloved, wise-cracking matriarch they’ve all gathered to say their goodbyes to. Rather than leaning into soapiness or tears, Sarandon plays her like a woman you know, allowing her to tug on your heartstrings all the more. Winslet and Wasikowska also (unsurprisingly) pull off their golden child/black sheep dynamic with ease, and the supporting players – including Wilson, Duncan, Taylor-Klaus, and Boon – also do a wonderful job. I found myself the most drawn to Sam Neill as Lily’s devoted husband Paul; he sticks to his routine and does his best to keep it together, but there’s a world of grief already happening in his eyes. It’s the kind of performance that sneaks up on you – and it hits the hardest by the time he finally breaks. These performances are sublime, but there’s only so much actors can do.

Blackbird sets expectations incredibly high and quickly fails to meet them. Stilted and often cliche dialogue prevent us from getting as emotionally intimate with the story as we should, even with this cast ready and willing to rip our hearts out. I kept wishing the script had ended up in more capable hands, or at least in the hands of someone who was able to make it feel less like a play and more like an affecting on-screen drama. Had Blackbird fully embraced its identity as an end-of-life family melodrama, things might have worked out better. The choice to throw in left-field, contrived plot points feels like a last-ditch effort to fill script pages, and an excellent cast truly suffers for it. The film is watchable, sure, but it should be more than that. Blackbird seems to be a well-intentioned piece, but it’s one that has too much to say and doesn’t quite know how to say it – and with performances as wonderful as these, it’s a damn shame.

Our Call: SKIP IT. While Blackbird is filled with great performances and some moving moments, it throws in too many contrived plot developments and overly theatrical scenes to hit home like it should.

Jade Budowski is a freelance writer with a knack for ruining punchlines and harboring dad-aged celebrity crushes. Follow her on Twitter: @jadebudowski.

Where to Stream Blackbird