# Blackbird (2019 film)
**Blackbird** is a 2019 drama film directed by [Roger Michell](https://www.edgepedia.org/roger-michell) and written by Christian Torpe, an English-language remake of the 2014 Danish film *Silent Heart*, for which Torpe also wrote the original screenplay. [Susan Sarandon](https://www.edgepedia.org/susan-sarandon) stars as Lily, a woman with ALS who gathers her family for a final weekend before ending her own life with her husband's help. The film premiered at the [Toronto International Film Festival](https://www.edgepedia.org/toronto-international-film-festival) on September 6, 2019, as a Gala Presentation, and received a limited US theatrical and streaming release on September 18, 2020, from Screen Media Films.[1](https://filmsandfestivals.britishcouncil.org/projects/blackbird1) • [2](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/blackbird_2020)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Director / writer | Roger Michell; screenplay by Christian Torpe, who wrote the Danish original *Silent Heart* (2014, directed by Bille August)[1](https://filmsandfestivals.britishcouncil.org/projects/blackbird1) • [3](https://www.screendaily.com/features/how-did-the-english-south-coast-stand-in-for-the-hamptons-in-roger-michells-blackbird/5142625.article) |
| Premiere | World premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival 2019, Gala Presentations, September 6, 2019[1](https://filmsandfestivals.britishcouncil.org/projects/blackbird1) • [3](https://www.screendaily.com/features/how-did-the-english-south-coast-stand-in-for-the-hamptons-in-roger-michells-blackbird/5142625.article) |
| Principal cast | Susan Sarandon (Lily), Kate Winslet (Jennifer), Mia Wasikowska (Anna), Sam Neill (Paul), Rainn Wilson (Michael), Lindsay Duncan (Liz), Bex Taylor-Klaus (Chris), Anson Boon (Jonathan)[1](https://filmsandfestivals.britishcouncil.org/projects/blackbird1) • [4](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt8717446/fullcredits/) |
| Runtime and rating | 97 minutes; rated R for some drug use, language, and brief sexual material[2](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/blackbird_2020) |
| US release | September 18, 2020, limited theatrical and streaming, distributed by Screen Media Films[2](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/blackbird_2020) |
| Critical scores | 64% on the Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer (105 reviews); Metascore 53 on Metacritic, described as mixed or average[2](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/blackbird_2020) • [5](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/blackbird-2019/critic-reviews/) |
| Production | US–UK co-production by Busted Shark, Eclectic Pictures, and Millennium Films; producers David Bernardi, Sherryl Clark, and Robert Van Norden[1](https://filmsandfestivals.britishcouncil.org/projects/blackbird1) |
## Spoilers
### Plot
Lily (Susan Sarandon) is terminally ill with ALS, a degenerative disease that is progressively taking away her control of her body. Having decided, with the support of her husband Paul ([Sam Neill](https://www.edgepedia.org/sam-neill)), to end her life on her own terms, she summons her family to the couple's country house for one final weekend gathering. The guests include her daughters Jennifer ([Kate Winslet](https://www.edgepedia.org/kate-winslet)) and Anna ([Mia Wasikowska](https://www.edgepedia.org/mia-wasikowska)), Jennifer's husband Michael (Rainn Wilson) and teenage son Jonathan (Anson Boon), Anna's partner Chris (Bex Taylor-Klaus), and Lily's lifelong friend Liz (Lindsay Duncan).[6](https://www.commonsensemedia.org/movie-reviews/blackbird-2020) • [7](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/blackbird-2019/details/)
The couple plans a loving weekend complete with holiday traditions, including an early Christmas celebration, but the mood becomes strained when unresolved issues surface between Lily and her daughters, whose long-standing conflicts threaten the peaceful farewell she intends.[2](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/blackbird_2020) • [1](https://filmsandfestivals.britishcouncil.org/projects/blackbird1) The decision to end her life is made before the film opens; the drama lies in how the family responds.[8](https://www.amny.com/entertainment/blackbird-faces-death-and-family-response-as-terminally-ill-woman-plans-to-end-her-own-life/)
## Production
**Origin.** Producer Sherryl Clark met the writer Christian Torpe at a dinner party, where he mentioned that he had adapted his script from *Silent Heart*, the award-winning Danish film he had written, for a US production. Clark read it and was moved by the story of a family struggling with their mother's decision to end her life after an ALS diagnosis. She immediately thought of Roger Michell, with whom she had worked on *Morning Glory*; he agreed to direct, which she described as an unusual chance to get her first choice.[9](https://sandrewmetronome.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/Blackbird-Pressemateriale.pdf)
**Casting.** [Diane Keaton](https://www.edgepedia.org/diane-keaton) was originally set to play the terminally ill mother but pulled out, and Sarandon was cast in her place.[10](https://www.filmink.com.au/reviews/blackbird/) The project was announced in July 2018 with Winslet, Keaton, and Wasikowska attached, and shooting planned for that August in London.[11](https://www.screendaily.com/news/kate-winslet-diane-keaton-mia-wasikowska-to-star-in-roger-michells-silent-heart-remake/5130991.article)
**Location.** Although the story is set on the eastern seaboard of the United States, the film was shot on the English south coast, which stands in for the Hamptons area.[3](https://www.screendaily.com/features/how-did-the-english-south-coast-stand-in-for-the-hamptons-in-roger-michells-blackbird/5142625.article) • [12](https://www.bfi.org.uk/sight-and-sound/reviews/blackbird-review-this-euthanasia-drama-trades-hard-truths-tasteful-bromides) Michell shot most of the film in sequence to give the family's emotional landscape a sense of realism.[13](https://fansvoice.jp/2021/06/11/blackbird-roger-michell-interview/)
## Themes and reception
Michell said he was drawn to material that looks like a routine illness drama but is in fact a funnier, odder, and more nuanced portrait of a family, and he described the film as being about life rather than death.[3](https://www.screendaily.com/features/how-did-the-english-south-coast-stand-in-for-the-hamptons-in-roger-michells-blackbird/5142625.article) • [14](https://www.tpr.org/2020-09-17/seize-the-moment-to-be-alive-susan-sarandon-and-director-roger-michell-on-new-film-blackbird) Sarandon said the story asks whether parents and children know each other as well as they think they do.[14](https://www.tpr.org/2020-09-17/seize-the-moment-to-be-alive-susan-sarandon-and-director-roger-michell-on-new-film-blackbird)
Critical response was divided. The Rotten Tomatoes critics consensus states that the splendid cast adds heart to a sensitive subject but that the film wastes its premise on shallow storytelling.[2](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/blackbird_2020) Positive reviews included Robbie Collin's four-star review in *The Telegraph*, which called it a simple tale well told, and [Richard Roeper](https://www.edgepedia.org/richard-roeper) in the *Chicago Sun-Times*, who called it a well-written, moving story bolstered by an outstanding cast.[5](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/blackbird-2019/critic-reviews/) The BFI's *Sight and Sound* review criticized the film's prettified take on terminal illness, and *The Guardian* called it a perfunctory script carried by a high-wattage cast.[12](https://www.bfi.org.uk/sight-and-sound/reviews/blackbird-review-this-euthanasia-drama-trades-hard-truths-tasteful-bromides) • [15](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2019/sep/07/blackbird-review-sarandon-and-winslets-lifeless-death-drama)
The film takes a positive stance on assisted death, presenting it as a choice about when and how to die with dignity, a stance that reviewers noted is controversial depending on the viewer's values.[6](https://www.commonsensemedia.org/movie-reviews/blackbird-2020) Neither the title nor the [Paul McCartney](https://www.edgepedia.org/paul-mccartney) song "Blackbird" is explained or heard in the film.[12](https://www.bfi.org.uk/sight-and-sound/reviews/blackbird-review-this-euthanasia-drama-trades-hard-truths-tasteful-bromides)
## References
1. [Blackbird, British Council UK Films Database](https://filmsandfestivals.britishcouncil.org/projects/blackbird1)
2. [Blackbird, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/blackbird_2020)
3. [How did the English South Coast stand in for the Hamptons in Roger Michell's 'Blackbird'?, Screen Daily](https://www.screendaily.com/features/how-did-the-english-south-coast-stand-in-for-the-hamptons-in-roger-michells-blackbird/5142625.article)
4. [Blackbird (2019) full cast and crew, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt8717446/fullcredits/)
5. [Blackbird critic reviews, Metacritic](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/blackbird-2019/critic-reviews/)
6. [Blackbird (2020) parents' guide and movie review, Common Sense Media](https://www.commonsensemedia.org/movie-reviews/blackbird-2020)
7. [Blackbird details, Metacritic](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/blackbird-2019/details/)
8. ['Blackbird' faces death and family response as terminally ill woman plans to end her own life, AM New York](https://www.amny.com/entertainment/blackbird-faces-death-and-family-response-as-terminally-ill-woman-plans-to-end-her-own-life/)
9. [Blackbird production story, SF Studios press material](https://sandrewmetronome.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/Blackbird-Pressemateriale.pdf)
10. [Blackbird review, FilmInk](https://www.filmink.com.au/reviews/blackbird/)
11. [Kate Winslet, Diane Keaton, Mia Wasikowska to star in Roger Michell's 'Silent Heart' remake 'Blackbird', Screen Daily](https://www.screendaily.com/news/kate-winslet-diane-keaton-mia-wasikowska-to-star-in-roger-michells-silent-heart-remake/5130991.article)
12. [Blackbird review, Sight and Sound, BFI](https://www.bfi.org.uk/sight-and-sound/reviews/blackbird-review-this-euthanasia-drama-trades-hard-truths-tasteful-bromides)
13. [Roger Michell interview on Blackbird, Fan's Voice (Japanese)](https://fansvoice.jp/2021/06/11/blackbird-roger-michell-interview/)
14. ['Seize the moment to be alive': Susan Sarandon and Roger Michell on Blackbird, TPR](https://www.tpr.org/2020-09-17/seize-the-moment-to-be-alive-susan-sarandon-and-director-roger-michell-on-new-film-blackbird)
15. [Blackbird review, The Guardian](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2019/sep/07/blackbird-review-sarandon-and-winslets-lifeless-death-drama)
---
*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Films and standalone screen works › Individual films by title and year › Drama and biographical films (individual works) › Drama films 2015 to 2019 › Drama films 2019*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license