Common Sense Media Review
By Alistair Lawrence
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Trauma and non-sexual nudity in immersive care-worker drama.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 14+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Watch
Videos and Photos
Chronic
Parent and Kid Reviews
What's the Story?
CHRONIC portrays the life of home care nurse David (Tim Roth) and problems that arise for him at work while caring for the terminally-ill residents.
Is It Any Good?
An unapologetic slow-burn of a movie, this 2015 drama might only last 93 minutes but its writer-director Michel Franco packs in plenty of subtext. In Chronic, Roth's David moves from patient to patient in his job as a home-care nurse, displaying little emotion while those around him frequently lash out in anger or collapse into tears. By keeping the movie focused on David, Franco invites the audience to sit quietly with those who are suffering, as David does, which only amplifies the at-times agonizing ordeal of waiting for their condition to improve or move toward an inevitable end. Roth's performance is a masterclass in measured detail, as he balances David's ability to be warm and personable with his patients with his blunt, detached nature. The viewer never gets inside David's head, but that's not the point. Chronic is a movie interested in life's constants, the things that cannot be changed and the ways in which people find to cope and help others, in spite of how cruel and unfair circumstances can seem.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about David's job as a home care nurse in Chronic. In what ways did he help his patients? What character strengths do you think are needed to perform a job like David's?
How did characters deal with their trauma or situations differently? Did you find any particularly difficult or upsetting?
Do you think stories like this are important to tell? Why, or why not?
Talk about some of the language used. Did it seem necessary or excessive? What did it contribute to the movie?
Movie Details
- In theaters : September 23, 2016
- On DVD or streaming : February 14, 2017
- Cast : Tim Roth , Sarah Sutherland , Robin Bartlett
- Director : Michel Franco
- Inclusion Information : Latino Movie Director(s) , Mexican Movie Director(s) , Female Movie Actor(s)
- Studio : Monument Releasing
- Genre : Drama
- Character Strengths : Compassion , Humility , Perseverance
- Run time : 93 minutes
- MPAA rating :
- MPAA explanation : some nudity and language
- Last updated : February 21, 2025
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