Starring: Radha Mitchell, Adam Demos, Bart Edwards, Meg Fraser, Xavier Molyneux, Darren Gilshenan
Distributor: Rialto Distribution
Runtime: 102 mins. Reviewed in Aug 2024
Reviewer: Fr Peter Malone msc
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At the peak of her career in London, an Australian woman is diagnosed with MS. After losing her job and the death of her husband, she moves home with her three sons, where a chance encounter with a childhood sweetheart changes her life.
There is always an emotional appeal with stories, especially about illnesses, that are based on real people. And this is the case here. As with many such films, there are photos of them during the final credits. The film has been co-written by director Raftopolous and executive produced by his wife, Claire Jensz. There is a tenderness about the title.
The film opens vigorously – horses racing through the countryside, the beauty of the New South Wales countryside, the Northern Rivers, the coastal beaches, the cliffs. And riding the horses, Laura (Fraser), finishing her studies at school, applying to British universities, some tensions with her strict schoolteacher father, support from her mother (and early glimpses of her mother’s hand shaking and indication of multiple sclerosis). As with her riding, Laura is independent and determined.
The young Laura encounters Michael (Molyneux), delivering fruit, working with his Greek father. As expected, there is mutual attraction. He learns to ride a horse, we see her strong-mindedness in the relationship and the dilemma about her education and leaving home. Michael is supportive of her choice to leave for the UK.
Then a sudden, unexpected transition of 20 years. This time, Laura, now played by Mitchell, is a successful businesswoman, married to the also-successful Jason. She is the mother of three young boys, and we learn of the busy family life and, at work, the possibilities for her promotion. One day, at the football, she faints. She is diagnosed with MS and there is concern that it is hereditary, concern about strength of the disease, the debilitating factors and the need for care. . . And this is complicated by her company’s decisions about her future, about her relationship with her husband.
Ultimately, Laura and the boys go back to Australia to live with her parents. She encounters Michael (Demos), and we see her increasing dependence because of the MS, and questions about love and the future. Most audiences will find this film touching, expectedly emotional (though some reviewers and audiences, seemingly becoming wary of expressions of emotion and sentiment, have considered the film too sweet). But the film is, in fact, the couple telling their story.
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