It’s the weekend again, and that means Film Focus. Here’s Mike Laidman with what’s new in local theaters.



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After all the spies and ninjas from last week, it’s time to slow things down a wee bit. Instead, we’ve got too heartfelt dramas, one with a bit of romance and comedy, and one that will tug at your heartstrings.

Drew Barrymore is back with Miss You Already, and Chris Evans takes a break from life with the Avengers to fight for his daughter in Gifted.

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Mike Laidman

Welcome to another edition of Film Focus. I'm Mike Laidman.

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Miss You Already (2017, Catherine Hardwicke)
The friendship between two lifelong friends is put to the test.

Miss You Already is an honest and powerful story following two best friends, Milly and Jess, as they navigate life's highs and lows. Inseparable since they were young girls, they can't remember a time they didn't share everything - secrets, clothes, laughs, and even boyfriends. Now they are trying to be grown-ups. Milly has a high-flying job and lives in a beautiful townhouse with her husband and two kids. Jess is a town planner and she and her boyfriend Jago live on a bohemian houseboat on a London canal. Their friendship is as rock solid as ever. That is until Jess struggles to have a much longed-for baby and Milly finds out she has breast cancer. How do two friends share news like that?

It’s no secret that the movie goes for your tear ducts, but it’s able to get away with some of its more manipulative moments with it’s rock-solid script, story, and cast. It’s easy to see what’s coming, but that doesn’t serve to diminish what is a sweet, wonderful bit of cinema, and of life.

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Gifted (2017, Marc Webb)
A single man raising his niece is drawn into a custody battle.


Frank Adler is a single man raising a child prodigy - his spirited young niece Mary in a coastal town in Florida. Frank's plans for a normal school life for Mary are foiled when the seven-year-old's mathematical abilities come to the attention of Frank's formidable mother Evelyn, whose plans for her granddaughter threaten to separate Frank and Mary.

It’s a fairly straightforward premise, but sometimes that’s all that’s needed if the performances and heart are both there. And while the movie as a whole isn’t as gifted as its protagonist, it’s an entirely watchable, engaging drama. The relationship between father Frank and niece Mary is beautiful to see, and does well at reaching the heart of the viewer - arguably the most important thing when it comes to cinema.