The Obsessive Viewer

• Director: Laura Chinn
• Writer: Laura Chinn
• Cast: Nico Parker, Laura Linney, and Woody Harrelson

Suncoast deftly juggles the story of a teenager’s burgeoning friendships and social drama with her single mother’s harried behavior at the hospice center where her son is approaching the end of his battle with brain cancer. Set in 2005 against the backdrop of the high profile Terri Shiavo case, a lot of Suncoast takes place in and around the eponymous hospice center in which Shiavo was a patient. Kristine’s (Laura Linney) son Max (Cree Kawa) is admitted into hospice care early in the film and while Kristine spends most of her time there, her 17 year old daughter Doris (Nico Parker) deflects her attention away from her family and onto enjoying her teen life for the first time after years of caring for her sick brother.

Doris is a social wallflower in her school. Surrounded by popular kids who don’t notice her, she gains admittance into a popular social circle by offering up her house for a party since her mother will be sleeping at Suncoast to be closer to Max. The film never positions Doris’s new friends as too bad of influences on her. Sure, they introduce her to varying levels of teen debauchery, but when the going gets rough as Max’s condition deteriorates, her friends come through as supportive. In fact, the main thrust of the movie’s conflict lies not in how her social life pulls her from her mother, but in how she uses her newfound friend group as a means to shirk her familial obligations and avoid coming to terms with the impending grief of losing her brother.

This is where Paul (Woody Harrelson) comes into play. Paul is a widower who stands outside Suncoast in the crowd of protesters espousing the sanctity of life. After meeting in a fast food diner and striking up a friendship, Paul continues to pop up and offer advice and guidance to Doris throughout the movie. Though Doris isn’t particularly receptive to Paul’s advice, there’s a pleasant energy of respect despite the idealogical differences the two have. Paul’s experience losing his wife spurs him to push Doris toward confronting the complicated family emotions of which she is adament to ignore. Meanwhile, Doris enjoys the sort of mentorship style of attention from an adult who isn’t as emotionally spread thin as her mother seems to be.

Harrelson’s involvement in the film is regrettably minimal and the Paul and Doris friendship subplot is the least interesting thread in the movie as a result. This is through no fault on Harrelson’s part, as he performs the role as well as he can with what he’s given. It’s just that the guidance he offers isn’t as prevalent as it should be, given the emotional gut punches the film offers late in its runtime. I’ll stop short of saying that Paul as a character feels like an afterthought in a crowded coming of age drama, but he’s dangerously close to that line. Still, the lessons and knowledge Paul offers to Doris do contribute to pivotal choices made late in the movie; there’s no argument there. Those dramatic moments are just not as focused as they would be had the character been more prominent.

Suncoast’s biggest strength comes in the depiction of the strained relationship between Kristine and Doris. Laura Linney gives an incredibly nuanced performance in which she doesn’t shy away from Kristine’s neglect of her daughter and the mental exhaustion of caring for her ailing son. The way the film explores Kristine’s pain through outward manifestations of bitterness and sternness toward Doris (as well as toward the nurses at Suncoast), gives Linney free reign to give an exemplary and layered performance. It’s a task she handles remarkably well and is on full display in a particularly strong scene in which Doris confronts Kristine for luring her away from her friends under false pretenses. The drama in that scene is played perfectly as Linney embodies a specific set of compartmentalized emotions under a complex shield of avoiding guilt.

While the Terri Shiavo case and ensuing media circus surrounding it is a constant presence in Suncoast, the film doesn’t really do much with it beyond being a backdrop. This is particularly disappointing as the drama centers around Kristine and Doris dealing with the rapidly deteriorating condition of Max, who’s unable to move or communicate due to his brain cancer. The closest the film gets to exploring the controversy at the center of the Shiavo case and how it affects Doris and her family is in some brief scenes with Paul, who holds a viewpoint opposite of Doris. There’s a subtle touch to the way the two characters communicate with each other while exploring their differences but, as previously stated, Paul is not a prominent enough character for this commentary to land very hard.

The mother and daughter relationship in Suncoast is the film’s guiding light and emotional center. This relationship is explored through commanding performances by Linney and Parker that help Suncoast stick the landing even with a couple minor missteps along the way.

Suncoast is currently streaming on Hulu.

About the Writer: Matt Hurt is the creator of ObsessiveViewer.com. He also created, hosts, and produces The Obsessive Viewer, Anthology, and Tower Junkies podcasts. He is a member of the Indiana Film Journalists Association.