Now is Good

     Now is Good is a film adaptation of Jenny Downham's novel Before I die.  I've never read the book so I can't compare the two, but the movie was good enough.

     There are hundreds of these types of movies where a dying person tries to experience everything in life they can before they die.  Most of these books/films have a love interest, and it's heart wrenching to see the young couple separated by death.  They are great stories, and obviously have very real meanings to the author/writer.  Now is Good breaks the mold a bit.

     Despite the cover and premise for the movie, it doesn't fall into the cliche of most of these types of movies.  Tessa Scott (played by Dakota Fanning) wants to live life to its fullest during the little time she has left before leukemia kills her.  The thing I liked about this story is that it focuses more on the real emotions and frustrations which Tessa deals with.  She's a normal teen-aged girl, and will be missing out on life.  She puts on a brave front at first, but as the end draws closer her emotions boil closer to the surface, and we see the real heartache and trauma one faces when looking death in the eye.  

     I've dealt with my own struggles with health, and this movie portrays the reality behind the facade sick people display in public.  There is fear, frustration, a sense of helplessness, anger, pleading, and a sense of being alone.  No matter how much people sympathize, they really don't know.  

     Instead of doing magnificent things, which nobody could afford while paying for chemo, Tessa wants to be bad.  She wants to make all the mistakes a rebellious teen can make, and even ends up in

 jail over one of her escapades.  Her divorced parents have very different views of her behavior, but frankly when you get to that point, you don't really care.  Her dad wants to cure her, while her mom wants to ignore the problem, and all but removes herself from dealing with the situation.

     The movie has no great climax.  There is no show of the indomitable human spirit.  A girl gets sick and dies in a realistic fashion with realistic feelings.

     I love Dakota Fanning. She's an incredibly talented young actress who doesn't get near enough attention for the poignant roles in which she's played.  This is another great building block in her career. 

     In all I give this movie