Common Sense Media Review
By Barbara Shulgasser-Parker
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Newly-widowed dad cares for son as they grieve; language.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 14+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Watch
Videos and Photos
Color Book
Parent and Kid Reviews
What's the Story?
Without over-explaining, COLOR BOOK drops us into a day in the life of Lucky (Will Catlett) and his 11-year-old son Mason (Jeremiah Daniels) as they try to overcome their grief at the loss of Tammy, loving wife and mother. Despite car failure, lack of funds, and the need for a long train and bus ride, Lucky tries to treat his son to his first Major League Baseball game. The venture is stymied by one small obstacle after another, perhaps a metaphor for what Lucky and Mason face in the years to come. But those challenges are mitigated to some degree by the kindness of strangers.
Is It Any Good?
Color Book is a beautiful film about loss and the need to move on even when it hurts. First-time feature director David Fortune relies on patient, lingering closeups and a melancholy score to invite us to share the pain of his subjects, the grief-stricken Lucky, a man of few words, and his 11-year-old son Mason, whose ability to express his sadness is seemingly limited less by personality than by Down Syndrome. Lucky squeezes reading lessons into everyday moments, patiently, but also showing the frustration of dealing with his son's disability. The movie is spare and curated, with quick montages of closeup examinations of things we take for granted—waffle batter cooking, rain drops landing, the counter stools at a diner, a patty melt grilling.
And we have no idea what Lucky does for work, or how he met his wife, or if they were a happy couple. The movie strips away the extraneous to focus on a day that will clearly be like many others for this father and son. The camera helps us see that much of Lucky's struggle relates to his unshakable understanding that he will have to teach and see his son through to maturity without his partner's help. Brief flashbacks paint Tammy as a patient, caring, and irreplaceable parent, searing into the black-and-white cinematography the pain that Lucky and Mason must negotiate from now on.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about the difficulty a parent losing a spouse might have in trying to comfort a young child for the loss of his parent. How do you allow yourself to grieve but also prioritize helping your child through grief?
A man who has lost his wife also must cope with the extra parental duties of a special needs child. How does the movie show us this struggle?
What character strengths do the characters here show?
Movie Details
- On DVD or streaming : June 19, 2026
- Cast : Will Catlett , Jeremiah Daniels , Joseph Curtis Callendar
- Director : David Fortune
- Studio : Netflix
- Genre : Drama
- Topics : Family Stories ( Dads )
- Character Strengths : Compassion , Empathy , Perseverance , Self-control
- Run time : 99 minutes
- MPAA rating :
- MPAA explanation : some language
- Last updated : July 23, 2026
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