Goodbye June Review:  Heartfelt Drama

Goodbye June gives Kate Winslet a chance in the director’s seat for the first time as she takes on a family-oriented script on grief written by her son.

Goodbye June is one of the most heartfelt movies of the year; it’s a little tedious in places, but it’s a powerful portrayal of the importance of showing up for family when everyone’s feeling their own form of grief towards the same person. 

Families are always tricky, especially June’s (Helen Mirren). People grow apart, move away, and start their own lives without parents and siblings. When June’s body rejects her latest round of cancer treatment, she ends up back in hospital, with the doctors unsure of how long she has left to live. It’s two weeks until Christmas and there’s not much hope that she will make it home, so her family makes her stay on her ward as festive as it can be. 

June’s daughters Julia (Kate Winslet, of Mare of Easttown), Molly (Andrea Riseborough, of To Leslie) and Helen (Toni Collette, of Hereditary), as well as her son Connor (Johnny Flynn, of Ripley) and husband Bernie (Timothy Spall, of Wicked Little Letters), spend their time at the hospital with her, creating a rota so that they get equal time with her, but also so some of the siblings don’t have to interact with one another. Goodbye June does a great job of examining the relationship siblings have with each other, whether it be jealousy of someone’s life or career, or the fact they got to spend more time with their parents. Either way, they all have a grudge over each other for something, even if it was in childhood and they never got over it. 

The film is a strong start as a directorial debut from Winslet. Whilst it’s predictable and sentimental, it’s what a lot of us want to watch around this time of year. With her son, Joe Anders, writing the script, and Winslet starring, it’s clear it’s a personal family project. Grief is the main subject of the movie, but it also harbours a lot of hope that families do have the ability to rekindle their relationship, even if an event like losing someone has to come first for the initial step to be made. 

A hefty cast is at the forefront of Goodbye June and everyone delivers. There’s unfeigned moments between many of the characters, including a deep conversation between Julia and Molly at the hospital. But the scene stealer is Spall as June’s husband Bernie. He’s in distress over the possibility of losing his wife so quickly after being admitted to hospital, yet he always manages to give either comedic relief, or a sing-song to make you shed a tear. 

While it’s nothing new, Goodbye June is a festive enough Christmas drama. It’s yet again another film to showcase the significance of being there for your family when they need it the most. It shouldn’t have to be when someone is dying that you show up for your siblings, but the movie is also a reminder that they’re just a call away, and it’s worth checking in. 

Goodbye June is now available to watch in select US theatres and UK cinemas and will be released globally on Netflix on December 24, 2025.