Director: Brenda Chapman
Writer: Marissa Kate Goodhill (Screenplay)
Starring: Gugu Mbatha-Raw, David Oyelowo, Angelina Jolie, Michael Caine, Reese Yates, Anna Chancellor, Keira Chansa, Jordan A Nash, David Gyasi
Plot: When their eldest brother dies, Peter and Alice seek to save their parents from despair until they are forced to choose between home and imagination, setting the stage for their iconic journeys into Wonderland and Neverland.
Runtime: 1 Hour 34 Minutes
There may be spoilers in the rest of the review
Story: Come Away starts as we meet a family living an a perfect house surrounded by countryside, mother Rose (Jolie), father Jack (Oyelowo) with their three children, Alice (Chansa), Peter (Nash) and David (Yates), the family is going to be facing is difficult decision when it comes to David’s education, but their world is turned upside when he dies in an accident.
With Rose and Jack filled with grief they return to old lives which will only cause the family more heartache, while Alice and Peter look to go on their own adventures to help them deal with the pain, using the fairy tales they grew up on to get them through the hard times.
Thoughts on Come Away
Thoughts – Come Away is a film that will show us how difficult loss can be on a family and how they will turn to different ways to try and overcome it, one might turn to gambling, while children will turn to a fantasy world, where they can still be together, this magical side of the film, is by far the strongest part of the film. We need to see the most important part of the grieving process is being together, not falling apart. We see Angelina Jolie in the supporting role does feel almost wasted, but she does let the younger stars take center stage with Keira Chansa and Jordan A Nash shining with their roles in the film. The story doesn’t end up feeling as magical as it seems to want to be, failing short on making us get the true impact the story is going for.
Final Thoughts – Come Away doesn’t hit the full sparkle of magic it is trying to get with the reality of dealing with grief.
Signature Entertainment presents Come Away in Cinemas from 18th December
