Blackbird (2020)

 

[Spoiler Alert] Although Blackbird received some scathingly negative reviews, I thought it was a work of art. The script, the acting and the sets all combine to create the portrait of a strong, serene, successful modern woman in an impeccable world she has designed for herself. But Lily has ALS, a painful degenerative disease; she refuses to live anymore in a body which can no longer do what she wants it to. She will live on her terms or not at all. She appears to have total control over her life and her death. It is the triumph of the culture of choice and self-actualization over sickness and suffering. Indeed, Lily appears to live in a universe where the supernatural has been either excised or modified according to her convenience, such as a Christless Christmas. The rest of her family, especially her daughters and grandson, have issues with the idea of their father/grandfather assisting their mother/grandmother in abruptly ending her life. It brings into question if Lily's life has really been as perfect as she wants it to appear. Is secret despair at the root of her decision to kill herself?

From Variety:

Roger Michell is one of the most reliably graceful directors of English-language screen drama, rising to the occasion of fine but challenging scripts (notably those he’s shot by Hanif Kureishi), that deft touch elevating material that’s more conventional or less than inspired. His good taste certainly makes a class act of “Blackbird,” Christian Torpe’s Americanization of the screenplay Bille August made into 2014’s Danish “Silent Heart.”

In other hands, this story about a bumpy weekend’s family gathering for a terminally ill matriarch’s planned euthanasia might’ve turned into an overly manipulative tearjerker. But thanks to Michell and a fine cast, it works admirably well — at least to a point, at which some viewers may feel Torpe piles on one crisis too many. Nonetheless, this is a quality enterprise with numerous rewards for adult audiences, one whose Christmas angle might prompt a release timed for maximum awards-campaign-season exposure.

 Susan Sarandon’s Lily has ALS, which has already cost her the use of one hand and made walking a chore. Doctor husband Paul (Sam Neill) can hardly deny the inevitability with which her condition will degenerate until she’s incapable of moving, or even swallowing, on her own. That is not a juncture Lily means to reach. Though this knowledge is withheld for a bit, we suss soon enough that she’s set a date for her demise — this Sunday — and will take a lethal dosage to die in her sleep after a final 48 hours spent with the fam. (Read more.)

 

 From the Chicago Sun-Times:

This is the setup for Roger Michell’s keep-the-box-of-tissues-close, family melodrama “Blackbird,” a remake of the Danish film “Silent Heart.” It’s a great-looking film, from the autumnal beauty of the exteriors (with the South Coast of England doubling for the Hamptons) to the exquisite set design of Lily’s home to the Ralph Lauren catalog-style outfits worn by this WASP-y family. The material can get awfully sudsy and we can see a couple of the big reveals coming two scenes in advance, but on balance this is a well-written, moving story bolstered by an outstanding cast.

Fifty years — FIFTY YEARS — after making a memorable screen debut in “Joe,” the majestic Susan Sarandon is still at the top of her game as Lily, who has lived a long and rich life, from her activism to her marriage to a loving husband Paul (Sam Neill) to her two grown two daughters, Jennifer (Kate Winslet) and Anna (Mia Wasikowska). Lily’s illness has reached the stage where it’s a struggle for her to get out of bed in the morning, navigate the stairs, hold a glass of wine in her hand. As the family members start to arrive for this final weekend, she’s more certain than ever the time has come to end it. (Yes, euthanasia is illegal, and there’s a scene where Paul explains exactly how the crime will be carried out, in a way that shouldn’t arouse suspicion. Hmmm. He might need a lawyer, just in case.) (Read more.)

 

Everything in Lily's symmetrical house is flawless, clean and balanced. Her marriage appears to be happy; she has had a successful and prosperous life, has seen the world and chooses to die in her own way, in her favorite setting. However, the perfection is merely on the surface. The daughters whom she thinks she has brought up to be "strong" and "independent" are neurotic messes who cannot deal with life, much less with death. The youngest daughter Anna is herself recovering from a suicide attempt. The daughters are brave at the end, but shattered. The husband, Paul, whom she adores, has had a lifelong affair with her best friend. The viewer wonders if the idea of a carefree life with his mistress has not played some role in his acquiescence to his wife's suicide. After she drinks the poison, Lily expresses her fear of the unknown. She realizes that she has no control over where she is going after her body stops breathing. Although she has prepared for death, she appears to have neglected eternity. Nothing is colder or more horrific than such a passing.

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