Parents' Guide to

Other People

By S. Jhoanna Robledo, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 16+

Heartbreaking, intense drama examines toll of cancer.

Movie NR 2016 97 minutes
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This drama is a heartbreaking examination of the toll that cancer can take, especially when it's a parent who's diagnosed with the disease and her child is struggling to come to terms with it. Plemons brings the audience right into the eye of the storm with his finely tuned performance; it's tinged with real grief and deep empathy. But this is truly Shannon's movie: Joanne feels like a real person -- inspiring, affecting, tragic, funny, defiant, and angry, all in one. And the secondary story about David's relationship with his father is handled with equal sensitivity and complexity.

David's sisters are written with less complexity, though Madisen Beaty and Maude Apatow still turn in strong performances. In the end, Other People isn't really about other people; the film feels universal, with lessons for both those who've unfortunately walked the cancer journey and those who haven't.

Movie Details

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