Chronic (film)

Chronic is a 2015 drama film written and directed by Michel Franco. The film stars Tim Roth, alongside a supporting cast featuring Bitsie Tulloch, David Dastmalchian, Tate Ellington, Claire van der Boom, Maribeth Monroe, Robin Bartlett, and Sarah Sutherland.

Chronic
Film poster
Directed byMichel Franco
Produced by
Written byMichel Franco
StarringTim Roth
CinematographyYves Cape
Edited byJulio Perez IV
Production
companies
  • Stromboli Films
  • Vamonos Films
Distributed byWild Bunch
Release date
  • 22 May 2015 (2015-05-22) (Cannes)
  • 21 October 2015 (2015-10-21) (France)
Running time
93 minutes[1]
Country
  • Mexico
  • France
LanguageEnglish

Plot

David is a divorced 40 something home hospice nurse. His patient is Sarah who is dying of cancer. He fully and tenderly bathes and dresses her. He sends her visiting family away when she needs rest. He arrives at work to learn she has passed away. He does not leave. He cleans her up and dresses her one last time. He attends her funeral. Her niece asks him if he attends all his patient's services? She tells him Sarah really liked him. David makes a strong bond with all his patients but at home he is alone, depressed often just sitting in the dark. Sometimes he runs on a treadmill at a gym.

The next patient is an elderly stoke victim named John. John was an architect. He is mean and angry with his family but learns to like David. David lets John watch porno. He holds John when he cries. David presents a picture of a house John had designed as a birthday gift. David's boss Robert calls him into the agency to be fired. John's family is suing for sexual harassment. They found the porno and accuse David of John getting a hard-on while bathing. David denies the charges but admits to working extra shifts because he was attached to John. He tries to make one last visit and the daughter sends him away. She says you know we are suing you.

David had a young son that died with a terminal illness. He has a daughter Nina in college. He follows her on the internet and he watches her from his car. They will meet once in a while for lunch. David's wife had remarried but divorced again after four years. David aimlessly runs the residential sidewalks.

David's friend and former boss Isaac gets him a job with Martha. She only needs him for chemo visits. She tells him she knows about the harassment suit but still hires him. Her cancer spreads and David is there for her. She throws up or has a bathroom accident and he cleans it up with no judgment. Martha lies to her daughter and reports her cancer is in remission. Martha and David have become close. Nina comes over one day for lunch. Martha asks David if he will help her die. He says no and she says he is fired. His care continues and one day he comes to the house and injects enough medicine that she dies. He calls in and reports she died of cardiac arrest.

Greg is a 16-year-old boy confined to a wheel chair. David is hired for one week as his regular caregiver is away. David takes the boy to the park. He has another angry patient. Later David goes for one of his runs and is struck dead by a car.

Cast

Release

Chronic premiered at the 2015 Cannes Film Festival on 22 May 2015 and was selected to compete for the Palme d'Or at the 2015 Cannes Film Festival.[2][3] At Cannes, Franco won the award for Best Screenplay.[4][5]

Reception

Critical response

The film received positive reviews from critics. As of June 2020, the film holds a 77% approval rating on review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, based on 60 reviews with an average rating of 6.41/10.[6] Metacritic reports a 69 out of 100 rating, based on 17 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[7]

Accolades
Award Category Recipient(s) Result
Independent Spirit Awards[8] Best Feature Chronic Nominated
Best Male Lead Tim Roth Nominated
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References
  1. "Chronic (15)". British Board of Film Classification. 1 December 2015. Retrieved 2 December 2015.
  2. "Complement to the Official Selection". Cannes Film Festival. 23 April 2015. Archived from the original on 5 May 2015. Retrieved 23 April 2015.
  3. "Screenings Guide". Festival de Cannes. 6 May 2015. Retrieved 8 May 2015.
  4. Henry Barnes (24 May 2015). "Cannes 2015: Jacques Audiard's Dheepan wins the Palme d'Or". The Guardian. Retrieved 24 May 2015.
  5. Rebecca Ford (24 May 2015). "Cannes: 'Dheepan' Wins the Palme d'Or". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 24 May 2015.
  6. "Chronic (2015)". Rotten Tomatoes. Flixster. Retrieved 7 June 2020.
  7. "Chronic reviews". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved 6 August 2019.
  8. Tapley, Kristofer (22 November 2016). "'American Honey,' 'Moonlight' Lead 2016 Film Independent Spirit Awards Nominations". Variety. Penske Media Corporation. Retrieved 22 November 2016.
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