Drew Barrymore and Toni Collette’s Miss You Already is raw and realistic right where it needs to be

IT’S not a perfect film yet Miss You Already about the test to a life-long friendship between two women rewards you by what it does right.

MISS YOU ALREADY (M)

Director: Catherine Hardwicke (Twilight)

Starring: Toni Collette, Drew Barrymore, Jacqueline Bisset, Paddy Considine, Dominic Cooper.

Rating: 3/5

Forcing open a door to closure

WHAT to do with a movie as deeply felt, yet deeply flawed, as Miss You Already?

Tough it out. That’s all you can do.

For if you can make it through the stretches where Miss You Already gets it wrong — and it must be said none of these slip-ups constitute any crimes against cinema — you will be rewarded by what it does right.

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SCRIPT BROUGHT DREW BARRYMORE TO TEARS

The life-long friendship between Jess (played by Drew Barrymore) and Milly (Toni Collette) is put to the test.

The main question asked here is a fascinating one. How do two people go on being best friends forever when they discover there is less than a year of that forever left to go?

Milly (Toni Collette) and Jess (Drew Barrymore) have been confirmed BFFs since childhood. One of them has always been there whenever the other has gone right ahead and done that.

Now their relationship faces its ultimate test. Milly has been diagnosed with an advanced case of breast cancer. Jess has finally fallen pregnant after several years of trying.

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World’s apart: Toni Collette and Drew Barrymore in the raw and realistic Miss You Already.

Having lived her entire life governed by a pronounced rebellious streak, Milly tries to manage the grave magnitude of her condition on her own terms.

Those nearest and dearest to her are welcome to know all about what Milly is going through, but must also know to keep their distance.

While this has complex implications for her relationships with her husband (Dominic Cooper) and mother (Jacqueline Bisset), it is how Milly’s plight impacts upon Jess that swiftly becomes the main focus of Miss You Already.

Jess decides to initially withhold news of her pregnancy from Milly. Celebrating an impending new life when her closest ally is dealing with a near-certain death sentence just isn’t Jess’ style.

What must truly be lauded in Miss You Already is just how realistic and raw its depiction of Milly’s cancer odyssey remains throughout the picture.

Love story: Drew Barrymore and Toni Collette in Miss You Already.

The way in which lives can both fall apart and come together in the shadow of this terrible disease is captured succinctly and powerfully when the movie is at its best.

However, where Miss You Already can often miss the mark is when it tries to find the lighter side of the dark times chronicled here.

Though some scenes are quite adept at mining a bittersweet strain of humour that can be an important coping mechanism for us all at some point in our lives, there are many moments where the undeniable bleakness of Milly’s illness is being exploited purely for the sake of a wonky one-liner.