Genre: Drama
Director: Destin Daniel Cretton
Writer: Chad Taylor
Cast: Timothee Chalamet, Joaquin Phoenix, Elle Fanning, Lili Taylor, Lili Reinhart, Scott Glenn, Geraldine Chaplin, Tye Sheridan, Leslie Bibb
Plot: Asher Finn (Timothee Chalamet), a freshman college student in his second semester, is woken up from his nap by a phone call from his mother. His father has fallen ill and his health is deteriorating rapidly. Clearly shaken, he packs a light suitcase, informs his roommate of the news and heads out in his car.
7 hours later, Asher arrives in his small Mississippi hometown and emotionally embraces his mom Laura (Lili Taylor) upon seeing her. In the hospital room, Asher reunites with his dying father Gerald (Scott Glenn), a 75-year-old local gas station magnate who’s been a prominent town figure since the 1970s. He also politely greets Joyce (Geraldine Chaplin), Gerald’s first wife before Laura. Asher wastes little time in asking the obvious question: Where’s Dan?
In a crowded bar across town, Dan Finn (Joaquin Phoenix), Gerald’s 46-year-old firstborn son, is having a joyous time drinking and exchanging stories with a group of friends. Dan is clearly comfortable as being the center of attention, effectively holding court at the table, but his night takes a downturn when he is pulled over for driving drunk on the way back home. His wife Heidi (Leslie Bibb) comes to pick him up, clearly annoyed.
The next morning at the hospital, Asher volunteers to run to the grocery store for the others. While there, he runs into Corey (Tye Sheridan), now a cashier at the store. Asher and Corey were best friends in high school just years before, but they have not talked since Asher went to college and Corey stayed behind. They briefly catch up and reminisce about back in the day Corey brings up the missing piece to the conversation: that he briefly dated Asher’s ex-girlfriend Gretchen after Asher left town. Asher acts as if that’s not the reason they’ve stopped talking, but it’s clearly gotten under his skin. Corey lets him know that he has been able to reason more with the current situation than Gretchen and suggests Asher seek her out while in town.
When Asher returns to the hospital, the situation has gotten worse and Sam (Elle Fanning) has joined the crew. She is Dan’s daughter and (technically) Asher’s niece. Despite Asher’s disdain towards her father, there is clearly a camaraderie between him and Sam that is much more like a sibling bond. He expresses regret in how long it has been since they’ve seen each other. Asher shares a one-on-one moment with his father in which Gerald expresses his love and fondness for his son. He advises him to follow his dreams and not to hold grudges – citing his own reconciliation with Joyce. Gerald dies later that day.
The next day, Joyce, Laura, and Asher meet with the funeral directors to write the obituary and plan the funeral. They express that they are waiting for one more person, but he is already 20 minutes late and they can proceed. Outside, Dan has a tight grip on the steering wheel as he pulls up to the funeral home, but after slowing down to park, he decides to drive away instead. The planning proceeds with a simmering tension between Joyce and Laura that Asher must mediate.
At the visitation, Asher and family politely greet the stream of visitors offering condolences – including Gretchen (Lili Reinhardt) and her parents. Both realizing this is not the occasion to air dirty laundry, Asher suggests they meet up for lunch the next day and she agrees. Not long after, tensions rise as Dan, late again, finally arrives. After hugging his mother and daughter, Dan turns to Asher and the tension could be cut with a knife. “How’s it going, kid?” he posits. Seething, Asher asks why Dan even showed up. After recalling their father’s advice about grudges, he points out that not only did Dan stop talking to his dad for the last 15 years but he opened a rival business out of spite (Dan’s business was more successful, effectively retiring Gerald). Stammering his response, Dan storms out.
Asher meets Gretchen for lunch the next day, but the conversation quickly spirals out of control. It is revealed that Asher cheated on her in the summer before college and despite her willingness to forgive him, he intentionally left the relationship open-ended. Heartbroken, she dated Corey briefly as a rebound – something she is unapologetic about. Unable to account for his own mistakes, Asher prematurely ends the meal.
At the burial, Dan watches from afar in his car – unbeknownst to the rest of the family. After returning home, Asher lays on the couch with his head on his mother’s lap. He confesses that life was always a bit different having a father 20+ years older than the dads of his friends. But what his dad lacked in cultural awareness, he made up for in timeless wisdom. Laura brings up how it was nice seeing Gretchen again and asks if they still talk. Always emotionally honest with his mother, Asher confesses that he feels like she’s the one that got away and how angry he is at himself for the way he mishandled things both then and now.
Joyce visits Dan’s home and promptly scolds her son for his behavior. Dan, noticeably drunk, reasons that he is just defensive of her and he was never able to forgive his dad for leaving her for someone practically his own age. He also criticizes his father’s perceived favoritism of his new family. Joyce reasons that if anyone should be bitter about the situation it is her, but she has learned to move on. And that even though Gerald made the decision he did, Asher should not be at fault for the situation he was born into. Dan breaks down crying and cites his inadequate ability to cope with his depression – and thus taking that out on others and alcohol. Sam is shown to be listening from her bedroom door, and she sneaks out of the house once the conversation ends.
Sam gives Asher a visit at his home, climbing in through his bedroom window as they did when they were younger. Asher is visibly vulnerable as he sifts through old photographs of his dad. They both exchange fond memories of the man. She asks Asher why he never came back home during any of his school breaks. When he tries to deflect and blame it on the distance, Sam bluntly tells him that he can’t just run away from all of his problems. She encourages him to meet with her father and confront their worries directly instead of beating around the bush.
Asher travels with Sam back to her house and immediately apologizes to his brother for the way he behaved at the funeral home. Dan puts the blame on himself for the situation, given his lack of involvement in his dad’s final days. He points out that it is hereditary for the male lineage to run away from their problems – Gerald from his first marriage, Dan from his father, Asher from home. When Asher asks why Dan never visited their dad in the hospital, it is revealed (accompanied by a flashback sequence) that Dan had his wife drive him to the hospital from the jail on the night of his DUI. While everyone else was asleep, Dan sat with his sleeping father for an hour, holding his hand. Gerald squeezes Dan’s hand, unclear whether or not he was awake in that moment. At this point, the two brothers are both in tears and Dan expresses his long-held fondness of Asher and his friendship with Sam. They promise to right the ship going forward and keep in touch.
Asher makes another visit to the grocery store. He asks Corey if he is free to hang out later, and Corey happily accepts the invitation. They even dust off the old secret handshake. Asher buys a bouquet of flowers and bids Corey adieu. Outside of Gretchen’s house, Asher practices lines in his car about how he fucked up, his regret over how he left things, and his love for her. After stumbling over his words several times, he grows frustrated and starts the car. After a moment of silent reflection, he shuts the car back off, grabs the flowers, and heads out the door.
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