Now Is Good

Adapted from Jenny Downham's novel Before I Die, the film is beautifully shot and superbly acted. If there was ever a way to explore the less comfortable side of healthy teenage desire -- to explore the world, to test boundaries, to take big risks, to live a little dangerously -- without the usual fear of worst-case scenarios or squeamishness, NOW IS GOOD is it, if only because the presence of terminal illness makes such risks seem like a quaint and necessary part of having lived. The movie shows a confrontational and sometimes dark but often humorous and wildly tender look at what it means to be alive, and, ultimately, what it means to die, all through the eyes of a teenager and those closest to her.

Tessa's quest to fulfill her bucket list -- at first filled with wild and predictable thrills, but eventually shifting to the sweeter, quiet moments only nature and family provide -- offers an excellent source of discussion with teenagers about the things that matter most in life at a time when imagining past the next hour is often difficult. It's a brutally direct film that's hard to watch because it never pulls its punches about dying, but this makes it especially beautiful -- not to mention a near-constant tearjerker, even when it's upbeat. Full box of tissue required.