Paddleton

Michael is diagnosed with stomach cancer and there is no treatment. He decides to end his life with a prescribed drug. Collecting it means a six-hour drive, and Andy, his upstairs neighbour and only friend, takes him. The two are middle-aged men who watch kung fu films and play a game they invented against the wall of their building. The subject is not death but men being unable to say goodbye. Andy will not discuss it; he makes plans, orders food, picks a film at the motel. The film does not judge that evasion and brings it to breaking point at the end. The form is plain and open to improvisation. The talk does not sound written, the scenes are long and there is almost no music. The humour is there not to soften the pain but because the characters have no other instrument. It was released on Netflix. Mark Duplass acts and co-wrote it; the small-scale, improvisation-based method he has kept across his career applies here too. Ray Romano's dramatic performance became the most discussed element. Alexandre Lehmann directs. Who it is for: viewers who like two-hander friendship films and quiet emotional narratives. Who it is not for: anyone wanting to avoid the subject; the film shows assisted death directly and in detail.