Now is Good

Now is Good

By: Kara Maltby

“Our life is a series of moments.” Now is Good ends with this haunting quote, reflecting the film’s theme. In this film, Ol Parker tackles a story of a young girl with cancer by focusing on her remaining weeks as a series of moments that make her last days some of the best and most difficult of her life. The result is a stunningly emotional and heartbreaking, yet heartwarming, story that haunted me for days. In fact, just writing this makes me tear up all over again.

Tessa (Dakota Fanning) is a seventeen year-old girl with an agenda and a very serious case of leukemia. She knows her days are numbered and she knows exactly how she wants to spend them. She makes a list of all the things she wants to do before she dies, with the help of her best friend (Kaya Scodelario), who is probably not the best role model. Sex, drugs, burglary. You name it. Her father (Paddy Considine), who studies possible remedies for her illness night and day, has a different plan in mind.

Tessa, however, is set on escaping her overprotective father and absent mother (Olivia Williams) in any way possible. When she meets her attractive young neighbor, Adam (Jeremy Irvine), she begins running off with him every chance she gets. They fall for each other almost immediately and he makes her every moment exactly what she wants and needs up until she takes her last breath. Along with Adam making dying a much easier process for Tessa are her father and brother constantly by her side. Even her mother makes a point of being there for Tessa despite her past lack of presence in her daughter’s life.

Every character reacted to Tessa’s situation in a completely different, heart-wrenching way. As soon as Tessa was diagnosed with leukemia, her father researched as much as possible about her disease and tried everything he could to save her. He just couldn’t let her go. He even vocalizes this to her at one point in the film when he finally breaks down and tells her not to leave him. I don’t think I’ve ever cried so much in a movie. He was the strongest one when it came to dealing with Tessa’s nearing death and to see him so weak and vulnerable broke my heart.

Her mother took a very different approach. She was completely helpless when it came to helping Tessa. She knew nothing about how to take care of her and didn’t do much to try. By the end of the film, however, she is there for Tessa more than she ever has been. Tessa’s brother, thank goodness, gives the audience some comic relief with his light-hearted attitude. He even asks if he can have Tessa’s room when she dies and Tessa’s only reaction is to laugh. Although Tessa has a struggled relationship with her family, the only moment she cries in the film is when she knows she is going to die soon and while watching her family enjoying their time together, realizes she won’t be a part of this much longer. Another point in the film where I completely lost it.

Last but not least is Tessa’s relationship with Adam. It was incredibly sweet and loving and even led me to hope that she would make it in the end and live happily ever after with this boy of her dreams, although I knew that wouldn’t happen. Every moment she spends with him gives her more life than she’s ever experienced. He finally makes her completely happy for once. Many shots of them are extreme close-ups that erase everything but the closeness and intimacy of these two characters and pull you in, forgetting about their surroundings completely.

The one part of the film that didn’t work for me was the opening sequence. It was comic book-like animation that seemed completely out of place. The rest of the film was so focused on the beauty of the world and life, even when facing death, so I would have much preferred something reflective of that rather than something that seemed to strip the life from Tessa.

Overall, the film really got to me and once I start thinking about it, I can’t stop. Although I’ve seen many films about people dealing with death, Parker crafted this story in a way that is so different from any other film I’ve seen before. It was incredibly refreshing to see a character with so much bravery and strength when facing the very near reality of death, even when surrounded by people who can’t even face the reality themselves.

Directed by Ol Parker; written by Jenny Downham and Ol Parker; produced by Goldcrest Pictures, BBC Films, Blueprint Pictures, Lipsync Productions, and UK Film Council

Running Time: 1 hour 39 minutes

WITH: Dakota Fanning, Jeremy Irvine, Olivia Williams, and Kaya Scodelario