Sometimes, a movie based on a true coming-of-age drama based, on the life of a writer or a director, can be beautiful and moving. But then could also end up like “The Souvenir”, which has a fine setup – but totally misses the execution. When the main character is there in place as a stand-in for the writer/director, you can feel that the message should be delivered thoughtfully. However, here the cast is excellent – but the story meanders and drips out so slowly and in such a convoluted manner that you might kick yourself to stay focused. The level of the actors is so high that they deserve to tell a soaring tale, yet they are given very limited story that barely keeps any interest.

Julie (Honor Swinton Byrne) is an English woman in her young 20’s. She is working to strike out on her own, using her skills in photography to get into film school. She has some very loving parents, including her mother Rosalind (Tilda Swinton). Julie has a boyfriend who is much older than she is. Anthony (Tom Burke) is somewhat charming and he has a broad education. But he has many woeful character traits. He works for British government in a high position. But he has left his wife, and he cheats and steals. The worst part is that he has a heroin addiction. Julie tries to see past all the bad stuff, and she accepts him with all his flaws.

They are together is a small flat in town. Anthony has strange hours for work and many times goes abroad. Julie is attending school and working on film project. She wants to make a documentary of a now defunct ship-building operation in a nearby town. How has the shutdown of the plant affected the people that remain? But when she has lunches with Anthony and diners with her parents – she is at a loss of words about how to describe her project. Mother Rosalind thinks that Julie could do much better for herself, by getting into a better school and finding a boyfriend who is not as unpredictable.

So, Julie attends school and meets with Anthony from time to time. They take a trip to Venice. But the little apartment also gets robbed one day. And then later Julie finds a shady character hanging out in the flat, waiting for Anthony. This other guy was looking to score some heroin, and he wants to get some from Anthony. Julie chases him out. But she is worried that Anthony is hooked up in something that is really bad. Anthony is defiant, but later on, he succumbs to the addition more and more. He is on a final downward spiral, and even Julie’s help will not save him. Julie works and struggles to get her documentary completed. Rosalind stops over quite often to see if there is something she can do, or if she can loan her some cash.

The resulting movie is a repetitive series of little scenes from Julie’s life. It is all well and good. But there is nothing compelling or nothing that drives any of the characters. So, the result is two hours of inaction that lead up to a non-conclusion. People pass into the Julie’s life, and people pass out of it. She does not take a hard stand much of anything. Even when Anthony is abusing his situation and taking advantage of Julie – she does not do anything. She remains a passive observer of her own life. This is far from a dramatic, edge-of-your-seat immersive experience. You just sort of see what is happening. The direction is such that the movie becomes a meandering stream of random events.

The acting of Honor Swinton Byrne (as Julie) and Tilda Swinton (as her mother Rosalind) is very believable. But of course, Tilda Swinton is the actual mother of Honor Swinton Byrne, so that is a little like typecasting. Tilda is highly respected and accomplished actor. It seems like her daughter, Honor, will be quite capable of following along that path that her mother has opened for her. Tom Burke has a very difficult role, since he is playing a charming cad who is on a downward slope. He just keeps getting worse and worse, as his character gets consumed by his addition. But it does not help that he is basically a ten-pound sack of manure out in the sun for several days…

When you participate in something meaningful, you might want to bring home a little reminder of what you accomplished. But when it comes to seeing this movie, you might pass on the chance to pick up “The Souvenir”.

In the Phoenix area, this movie will open exclusively at the Harkins Scottsdale Camelview…

In the opening scene, we see a six-year-old boy, fresh home from school, walking into his mother’s room to discover her in bed. Clear to the audience because of all the pills scattered about, she is dead. The scene would have been fine had he thought her simply asleep and covered her, but it went another direction. That direction was to have her know she was dead and calmly cover her as if as was well. He gives her a kiss and says goodbye. It doesn’t feel believable as the boy is much too young to understand. The moment feels contrived and so very staged. If he had been an older child, I could see the scene working but what’s being set up is that the boy has little feeling about death. The theme of this movie is teen suicide. In the most overt way, it has been explained to you exactly why the main character has come to be who he is.

Then we move to the little boy having to face life alone with a drunken father. He screams to the child that she left them both and to forget she was ever alive with lines such as, ‘Don’t ever say her name to me!’ That immediately put me off because the script was talking to me as if I wouldn’t have understood the story had these elements naturally unfolded. Doubting that the viewers would ultimately understand the plot, the director, instead, chose to pound the topic into our heads in the first few minutes rather than let us discover the truth as it all plays out. His doubt in us made it a struggle to win me back. 

Ten years later we see that for the same boy, Jesse (MacKenzie), things haven’t gotten much better. He’s now sixteen and not only has his situation not improved, but things have also become less desirable. He simply exists as a punching bag for his father, fellow students, to the world entire… with one exception. Jesse has a best friend named Sarah (Eichenberger). She’s also the narrator of the story. Through Sarah, we see strength and direction. Jesse tells her everything. She’s beautiful but he isn’t interested in her as a girlfriend. That’s because he isn’t interested in life. Jesse and Sarah have a nice day planned at the lake. He shows her some of his artwork. Suddenly, they’re jumped by some of their fellow high school students who tease Jesse and hold him under water. Sarah sees that Jesse doesn’t struggle. He lets them do whatever they want to him, seemingly welcoming death if it comes to that. This doesn’t go by unnoticed. Sarah questions his lack of willingness to fight back. He tells her, ‘We all gotta go sometime.’ Shortly after, he tells her his plans of taking the ‘cowards way out’ as his mom did. She feels betrayed at the revelation. It’s a heavy burden for her to carry, especially after he shows her how he’s planning on doing the deed. His intention alone is frightening to her but then he shows Sarah the tool he’s going to use, as well. He tells her the date and time he’s doing it and not tell anyone or, ‘I’ll do it sooner.’ That’s a friend! She gets desperate and, surprisingly, her promise of sleeping with him if he doesn’t kill himself doesn’t discourage him. Was it supposed to? 

I have to add that knowing this was made by an extremely young filmmaker will help you forgive some things. Regardless of that fact, it ultimately doesn’t make for great entertainment. The acting, especially by MacKenzie, fit the character but he’s encased within a story that wants to be special yet labors at how to be anything but ordinary. With such a formulaic tone (something it was attempting not to deliver) and weak structure, this teen melodrama is a pass. Had it been made by a seasoned crew behind the scenes it, most likely, would have been more engaging and worth consideration. As it is, it’s too typical of its genre and has the earmarks of a squad of individuals uncertain of how to work a manageable script. I’d most especially like to see Walting learn what his actors are capable of before casting his next film. I’m not suggesting anyone involved in ‘Just Say Goodbye,’ say goodbye to their craft. There’s always next time. And with as much work as Walting put in to be the new kid on the block, I’m certain he’ll be developing his skills rather nicely. I’ll happily say goodbye to this film and say hello to anything he does next.