There’s much to admire about this Morwenna Banks-scripted tale of two soulmates facing life-changing events. Toni Collette and Drew Barrymore are on lively form as the BFFs attempting to deal with breast cancer and IVF respectively, and director Catherine Hardwicke (who proved her mettle on both thirteen and Twilight) gives them plenty of space to both enjoy and endure each other’s company. At times, the uproarious laughter foregrounded in the publicity (a counterbalance to the narrative’s more sombre themes) can grate – it’s not only Barrymore’s Jess who becomes exasperated by Collette’s hard-rocking Milly. But it’s hard to remember many mainstream films dealing so frankly with the subject of mastectomy (only Susanne Bier’s wonderful Love Is All You Need springs to mind), and there’s a refreshing honesty to the film’s treatment of sex and companionship. Support from Jacqueline Bisset and Paddy Considine adds believable background heft.
