''Miss You Already'' is a 2015 British
romantic comedy-drama
Comedy drama, also known by the portmanteau ''dramedy'', is a genre of dramatic works that combines elements of comedy and drama. The modern, scripted-television examples tend to have more humorous bits than simple comic relief seen in a typical ...
film directed by
Catherine Hardwicke
Helen Catherine HardwickeAccording to the State of Texas. ''Texas Birth Index, 1903–1997''. Center for Health Statistics, California Department of Health Services, Sacramento, California. (born October 21, 1955) is an American film director, p ...
and written by
Morwenna Banks
Tamsin Morwenna Banks (born 20 September 1961) is a British comedy actress, writer and producer. She appeared in the Channel 4 comedy sketch show '' Absolutely'', and wrote, produced, and appeared in the British ensemble film ''The Announcemen ...
, based on Banks' 2013
radio drama
Radio drama (or audio drama, audio play, radio play, radio theatre, or audio theatre) is a dramatized, purely acoustic performance. With no visual component, radio drama depends on dialogue, music and sound effects to help the listener imagine ...
''Goodbye''. The film stars
Toni Collette
Toni Collette Galafassi (born Toni Collett; 1 November 1972) is an Australian actress, producer, singer, and songwriter. Known for her work in television and independent films, she has received various accolades throughout her career, includ ...
,
Drew Barrymore
Drew Blythe Barrymore (born February 22, 1975) is an American actress, director, producer, talk show host and author. A member of the Barrymore family of actors, she is the recipient of several accolades, including a Golden Globe Award and a ...
,
Dominic Cooper
Dominic Edward Cooper (born 2 June 1978) is an English actor known for his portrayal of comic book characters Jesse Custer on the AMC show ''Preacher'' (2016–2019) and young Howard Stark in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, with appearances in ...
,
Paddy Considine
Patrick George Considine (born 5 September 1973) is an English actor, director, and screenwriter. He frequently collaborates with filmmaker/director Shane Meadows. He has received two British Academy Film Awards, three Evening Standard Britis ...
,
Tyson Ritter
Tyson Jay Ritter (born April 24, 1984) is an American singer, songwriter, musician, actor, and model. He is best known as the lead vocalist, bassist, pianist, and songwriter of the multi-RIAA certification, platinum selling American alternative ...
,
Frances de la Tour
Frances J. de Lautour (born 30 July 1944), better known as Frances de la Tour, is an English actress. She is known for her role as Miss Ruth Jones in the television sitcom ''Rising Damp'' from 1974 until 1978. She is a Tony Award winner and thr ...
, and
Jacqueline Bisset
Winifred Jacqueline Fraser Bisset ( ; born 13 September 1944) is a British actress. She began her film career in 1965 and first came to prominence in 1968 with roles in '' The Detective'', ''Bullitt'', and ''The Sweet Ride'', for which she rec ...
. It was screened in the Gala Presentations section of the
2015 Toronto International Film Festival
The 40th annual Toronto International Film Festival was held from 10 to 20 September 2015. On 28 July 2015 the first wave of films to be screened at the Festival was announced. Jean-Marc Vallée's ''Demolition'' starring Jake Gyllenhaal and Naom ...
.
The film opened theatrically in the United Kingdom on 25 September 2015 and in the United States on 6 November 2015 with positive critical reviews.
[
]
Plot
Milly (Toni Collette) and Jess (Drew Barrymore) are best friends who met in school and do everything together. As they grow older, Milly settles down and marries her rocker boyfriend Kit while Jess becomes an environmentalist and marries her long-time boyfriend Jago.
Milly, busy with her career and her young family, learns that she has breast cancer
Breast cancer is cancer that develops from breast tissue. Signs of breast cancer may include a lump in the breast, a change in breast shape, dimpling of the skin, milk rejection, fluid coming from the nipple, a newly inverted nipple, or a re ...
after a long-delayed check-up. She finds herself unable to tell Kit and, after a week, finally confides in Jess. Once she tells Kit and their children, Scarlett and Ben, Milly tasks Jess with helping her get through chemotherapy
Chemotherapy (often abbreviated to chemo and sometimes CTX or CTx) is a type of cancer treatment that uses one or more anti-cancer drugs (chemotherapeutic agents or alkylating agents) as part of a standardized chemotherapy regimen. Chemotherap ...
and the two women joke around as Milly receives her treatments. During this time period, Jess, who has been unable to conceive naturally, puts off IVF treatments with Jago, feeling that she cannot keep trying to have children while Milly is sick. After Jago grows exasperated, Jess finally decides to give it a shot and the couple manage to conceive a baby shortly after.
The night Jess learns that she is pregnant, Milly learns that though she has responded to the chemotherapy, she still needs a double mastectomy
Mastectomy is the medical term for the surgical removal of one or both breasts, partially or completely. A mastectomy is usually carried out to treat breast cancer. In some cases, women believed to be at high risk of breast cancer have the operat ...
. She goes to a bar and gets drunk and, when Jess retrieves her, confesses that she has a big ego and does not want to appear unattractive. Jess reassures her that she will always want her in her life. Milly goes through with the double mastectomy but Jess finds herself unable to tell Milly she is pregnant as she feels as though her good news would cause Milly grief. Meanwhile, Jess learns Jago must go away to work on an oil-rig to pay for their IVF treatments.
Milly finds herself growing increasingly distant from Kit after the surgery. After he arranges a surprise birthday dinner, Milly walks out, taking Jess with her and the two go all the way to West Yorkshire
West Yorkshire is a metropolitan and ceremonial county in the Yorkshire and Humber Region of England. It is an inland and upland county having eastward-draining valleys while taking in the moors of the Pennines. West Yorkshire came into exi ...
ostensibly to see the moors where the Brontë sisters grew up, though, in reality, Milly is chasing down a barman, Ace, that she had sex with post-surgery. When Jess discovers the deception, she and Milly argue and she reveals her pregnancy to Milly.
For a while, Milly and Jess are estranged. During this period, Jess learns that she is having a high-risk pregnancy while Milly learns that while her breast cancer is in remission she also has fatal malignant tumour
Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Possible signs and symptoms include a lump, abnormal bl ...
s in her brain. Milly tracks down Jess and the women reconcile. She also confesses her affair to Kit and although he feels betrayed, he decides to make love to Milly knowing that her days are numbered. Milly eventually tells her children that she will die and must go into hospice
Hospice care is a type of health care that focuses on the palliation of a terminally ill patient's pain and symptoms and attending to their emotional and spiritual needs at the end of life. Hospice care prioritizes comfort and quality of life by ...
care. While there, she tells Jess she is holding on for the birth of Jess's first child.
Jess goes into labour early while Jago is still on the oil rig. While Kit does not want Milly to attend the labour, her mother, Miranda, helps her sneak out of the hospice so she is able to be there when Jess gives birth. Some days after, Milly dies at the hospice with Jess by her side. A few years later, Jess is pregnant with her second child, and the two families are having lunch together. Jess muses on how her friend was irreplaceable but then recognises a trait of hers in Scarlett.
Cast
* Toni Collette
Toni Collette Galafassi (born Toni Collett; 1 November 1972) is an Australian actress, producer, singer, and songwriter. Known for her work in television and independent films, she has received various accolades throughout her career, includ ...
as Milly
** Sophie Holland as 21-year-old Milly
** Lucy Morton as 13-year-old Milly
** Eleanor Stagg as 10-year-old Milly
* Drew Barrymore
Drew Blythe Barrymore (born February 22, 1975) is an American actress, director, producer, talk show host and author. A member of the Barrymore family of actors, she is the recipient of several accolades, including a Golden Globe Award and a ...
as Jess
** Charlotte Hope
Charlotte Hope is an English actress. She first achieved recognition for her recurring role as Myranda in the third through fifth seasons of the HBO fantasy series ''Game of Thrones'' (2013–2016). Hope gained further prominence in the lead r ...
as 21-year-old Jess
** Emily Trappen as 13-year-old Jess
** Grace Schneider as 10-year-old Jess
* Mem Ferda as Achmed
* Dominic Cooper
Dominic Edward Cooper (born 2 June 1978) is an English actor known for his portrayal of comic book characters Jesse Custer on the AMC show ''Preacher'' (2016–2019) and young Howard Stark in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, with appearances in ...
as Kit
** Max Rinehart as 21-year-old Kit
* Paddy Considine
Patrick George Considine (born 5 September 1973) is an English actor, director, and screenwriter. He frequently collaborates with filmmaker/director Shane Meadows. He has received two British Academy Film Awards, three Evening Standard Britis ...
as Jago
* Tyson Ritter
Tyson Jay Ritter (born April 24, 1984) is an American singer, songwriter, musician, actor, and model. He is best known as the lead vocalist, bassist, pianist, and songwriter of the multi-RIAA certification, platinum selling American alternative ...
as Ace
* Frances de la Tour
Frances J. de Lautour (born 30 July 1944), better known as Frances de la Tour, is an English actress. She is known for her role as Miss Ruth Jones in the television sitcom ''Rising Damp'' from 1974 until 1978. She is a Tony Award winner and thr ...
as Jill
* Jacqueline Bisset
Winifred Jacqueline Fraser Bisset ( ; born 13 September 1944) is a British actress. She began her film career in 1965 and first came to prominence in 1968 with roles in '' The Detective'', ''Bullitt'', and ''The Sweet Ride'', for which she rec ...
as Miranda
* Honor Kneafsey
Honor Kneafsey is a British actress, best known for her voice role as Robyn Goodfellowe in ''Wolfwalkers''.
Kneafsey started her career as a child actress, such as her role as June, the youngest child of historical figure George Mottershead, in ...
as Scarlett
* Ryan Lennon Baker as Ben
* Janice Acquah as Nisha
* Charlotte Ubben as Cheryl
* Shola Adewusi
Shola Adewusi (born 1963) is an England, English actress of Nigerian descent, of stage screen and radio.
Her television work includes ''Little Miss Jocelyn'', the BBC Television comedy, comedy sketch show series written by and starring Jocely ...
as Athena
* Anjli Mohindra
Anjli Mohindra (born 20 February 1990) is a British stage, screen and voice-over actress and writer. She is best known for playing aspiring journalist Rani Chandra in the ''Doctor Who'' spin-off series ''The Sarah Jane Adventures'' (2008–2011) ...
as Kira
* Noah Huntley
Noah Cornelius Marmaduke Huntley (born 7 September 1974) is an English actor and model. He has appeared in films such as '' 28 Days Later'' (2002), '' The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe'' (2005), ''Snow White and the ...
as Company executive
Production
Development
The film is based on Morwenna Banks
Tamsin Morwenna Banks (born 20 September 1961) is a British comedy actress, writer and producer. She appeared in the Channel 4 comedy sketch show '' Absolutely'', and wrote, produced, and appeared in the British ensemble film ''The Announcemen ...
' radio play ''Goodbye'', which was first broadcast on BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC that replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. It broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history from the BBC' ...
. The project was first announced on 11 February 2012, when Paul Andrew Williams
Paul Andrew Williams (born 1973 in Portsmouth, England) is a British film writer and director. He won the New Director's Award for his film '' London to Brighton'' in the 2006 Edinburgh International Film Festival.
Career
Williams began his caree ...
was set to direct and co-wrote the script with Morwenna Banks, Entertainment One
Entertainment One Ltd., trading as eOne, is an American-owned Canadian multinational entertainment company. Based in Toronto, Ontario, the company is primarily involved in the acquisition, distribution, and production of films and television se ...
had the UK, Canada, and Australian rights to the film.
Casting
On 13 February 2012, It was announced that Jennifer Aniston
Jennifer Joanna Aniston (born February 11, 1969) is an American actress and film producer. She is the recipient of various accolades, including a Primetime Emmy Award, a Golden Globe Award and two Screen Actors Guild Awards. Since her career ...
would star in the film.
On 22 April 2014, it was announced that Catherine Hardwicke
Helen Catherine HardwickeAccording to the State of Texas. ''Texas Birth Index, 1903–1997''. Center for Health Statistics, California Department of Health Services, Sacramento, California. (born October 21, 1955) is an American film director, p ...
was set to direct the film, in which Rachel Weisz
Rachel Hannah Weisz (; born 7 March 1970 ) is an English actress. She is the recipient of List of awards and nominations received by Rachel Weisz, various accolades, including an Academy Award, a Laurence Olivier Award, and a BAFTA Award.
We ...
, who replaced Aniston and Toni Collette
Toni Collette Galafassi (born Toni Collett; 1 November 1972) is an Australian actress, producer, singer, and songwriter. Known for her work in television and independent films, she has received various accolades throughout her career, includ ...
would star as lead actresses. The two leads would play childhood best friends whose relationship becomes troubled when one contracts breast cancer. Hardwicke said about the script,
:"When I met Morwenna Banks and read her script, I really felt her passion for this story — this is something she lived through. She managed to take real life and turn it into a powerful, laugh-and-cry-out-loud screenplay."
But on 5 September, Drew Barrymore
Drew Blythe Barrymore (born February 22, 1975) is an American actress, director, producer, talk show host and author. A member of the Barrymore family of actors, she is the recipient of several accolades, including a Golden Globe Award and a ...
was added to the cast and replaced Weisz to portray her part along with Collette, Dominic Cooper
Dominic Edward Cooper (born 2 June 1978) is an English actor known for his portrayal of comic book characters Jesse Custer on the AMC show ''Preacher'' (2016–2019) and young Howard Stark in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, with appearances in ...
, Paddy Considine
Patrick George Considine (born 5 September 1973) is an English actor, director, and screenwriter. He frequently collaborates with filmmaker/director Shane Meadows. He has received two British Academy Film Awards, three Evening Standard Britis ...
, and Jacqueline Bisset
Winifred Jacqueline Fraser Bisset ( ; born 13 September 1944) is a British actress. She began her film career in 1965 and first came to prominence in 1968 with roles in '' The Detective'', ''Bullitt'', and ''The Sweet Ride'', for which she rec ...
. Cooper and Considine to play husbands of Barrymore and Collette, while Bisset would play Collette's character's mother. On 3 October Tyson Ritter
Tyson Jay Ritter (born April 24, 1984) is an American singer, songwriter, musician, actor, and model. He is best known as the lead vocalist, bassist, pianist, and songwriter of the multi-RIAA certification, platinum selling American alternative ...
joined the cast of the film to play the love interest of one of the lead female actresses.
Filming
Principal photography
Principal photography is the phase of producing a film or television show in which the bulk of shooting takes place, as distinct from the phases of pre-production and post-production.
Personnel
Besides the main film personnel, such as actor ...
began on 7 September 2014 in London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
and later shooting also took place in West Yorkshire
West Yorkshire is a metropolitan and ceremonial county in the Yorkshire and Humber Region of England. It is an inland and upland county having eastward-draining valleys while taking in the moors of the Pennines. West Yorkshire came into exi ...
, England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
. The hospital that features in the film is th
UCH Macmillan Cancer Centre
Release
Distribution
The film was sold to several territories, including Germany, France, Japan, South Korea, and Hong Kong.
Music
The film features the song "There's a Place
"There's a Place" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles from their debut album, ''Please Please Me'', released in March 1963. It was written primarily by John Lennon and credited to McCartney–Lennon. In the United States, the song ...
" from star Tyson Ritter
Tyson Jay Ritter (born April 24, 1984) is an American singer, songwriter, musician, actor, and model. He is best known as the lead vocalist, bassist, pianist, and songwriter of the multi-RIAA certification, platinum selling American alternative ...
's band The All-American Rejects
The All-American Rejects is an American rock band from Stillwater, Oklahoma, formed in 1999.[Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...]
, the film has a 71% rating based on 117 reviews, with an average rating of 6.04/10. The site's consensus states: "''Miss You Already'' isn't shy about going for filmgoers' tear ducts, but its solid script and talented cast are often powerful enough to make up for its more manipulative moments." Metacritic
Metacritic is a website that review aggregator, aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted arithmetic mean, weighted average). M ...
reports a 59 out of 100 rating, based on 24 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".
Home media
''Miss You Already'' was released on region 1 DVD
The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kin ...
and Blu-ray
The Blu-ray Disc (BD), often known simply as Blu-ray, is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released on June 20, 2006 worldwide. It is designed to supersede the DVD format, and capable of sto ...
on 1 March 2016.
References
External links
*
*
*
*
Catherine Hardwicke's 'Miss You Already' scores sales
{{DEFAULTSORT:Miss You Already
2015 films
2015 romantic comedy-drama films
British romantic comedy-drama films
Entertainment One films
Films about cancer
Films directed by Catherine Hardwicke
Films scored by Harry Gregson-Williams
Films set in London
Films shot in London
British female buddy films
2010s female buddy films
2010s English-language films
2010s British films