Four siblings' lives change drastically when their ailing mother takes a turn for the worse over the holiday season.
Ratings
Curator score: 3.0/10
IMDb: 6.7/10
Letterboxd: 3.26/5
Metacritic: 54
TMDB: 6.7/10
Director
Kate Winslet
Production
Working Title Films, 55 Jugglers
Cast
Helen Mirren, Toni Collette, Johnny Flynn, Andrea Riseborough, Timothy Spall, Kate Winslet, Fisayo Akinade, Stephen Merchant, Jeremy Swift, Raza Jaffrey, Dan Li, Michelle Parker, James Dryden, Georgia Landers, James Trevelyan Buckle, Flora Jacoby Richardson, Benjamin Shortland, Elias Whittaker, Dexter Savill, Nancy Hannan
Where to watch
Netflix, Netflix Standard with Ads
Curator Review
Verdict
A tender, grief-soaked family drama with strong performances and a clear emotional target, but it sounds uneven and sometimes overly schematic. If you’re in the mood for a cozy holiday tearjerker about anticipatory grief, it may land; if you want subtle writing or a less sentimental approach, it may frustrate.
Best for
Viewers who like intimate family dramas about illness and loss
Fans of performance-driven ensemble pieces
Holiday-season tearjerkers
Audiences open to sentimental, cathartic storytelling
Skip if
You dislike overtly emotional or saccharine dramas
You want sharp, naturalistic writing over melodrama
You’re avoiding movies centered on terminal illness
You prefer holiday films that are lighter or more comedic
Overview
Goodbye June is built around a familiar but potent premise: a family gathering under the shadow of a mother’s decline, with the holiday season turning every small conflict into something sharper. The film appears to lean hard into grief, resentment, and the messy emotional logistics of saying goodbye before the goodbye has actually happened.
Worth noting
What seems to elevate it is the cast. The reviews point to standout performances, especially from Helen Mirren, and to a few scenes that clearly know how to wring both humor and heartbreak from a family in crisis. That combination can be powerful when the script is precise.
Bottom line
At the same time, the response suggests the film doesn’t always escape its own formula. It sounds emotionally effective but also a little overdetermined, the kind of drama that tells you exactly where to feel. For viewers who want a polished, cozy cry, that may be enough; for others, the sentimental edges may be too visible.
Top Letterboxd reviews
joão vitor (4★) · 697 likes
“i love watching the snowfall. maybe if i’m lucky i’ll come back as a snow, and then i’ll see you all at christmastime.” yeah i just sobbed :((((((
allain♡ · 500 likes
best Snickers product placement there is
vivdagoat 🍎🍂🐞 (2.5★) · 470 likes
totally understand june going out during the nativity play because who wants to sit through that every christmas
davidehrlich (2.5★) · 297 likes
Kate Winslet’s “Goodbye June” — a terminally cozy Netflix Original that she directed from a script written by her 21-year-old son Joe Anders as part of his coursework at Britain’s National Film and Television School — isn’t the least bit shy about the extreme privilege that went into its production, and all things being equal, that’s probably for the best. Saccharine and schematic as the movie turned out to be in the end, it might have felt more dishonest if… more Kate Winslet’s “Goodbye June” — a terminally cozy Netflix Original that she directed from a script written by her 21-year-old son Joe Anders as part of his coursework at Britain’s National Film and Television School — isn’t the least bit shy about the extreme privilege that went into its production, and all things being equal, that’s probably for the best. Saccharine and schematic as the movie turned out to be in the end, it might have felt more dishonest if… more
dede ♡ (4★) · 266 likes
grandpa bernie singing a song for june at the pub will make you laugh and cry. timothy spall, you’re an absolute treasure!
2003 · Comedy, Drama · 1h 21m · PG-13 · Curator 6.0/10 (51K ratings) · Where to watch: Amazon Prime Video, fuboTV, MGM Plus, Philo, Amazon Prime Video with Ads
A holiday family gathering where tension, tenderness, and mortality all collide in a compact emotional space.