How does a family remain stable after the death of a son? In "The Greatest," not without much pain, sorrow and a new life to make up for such a loss. In the film, written and directed by newcomer Shana Feste, the Brewer family must overcome the loss of Bennett (Aaron Johnson) and take care of his pregnant girlfriend. The film succeeds in portraying a realistic account of death, love and family problems.
On the last day of high school, Bennett musters up the courage to talk to Rose (Carey Mulligan) after four years of distant longing on both ends. They spend a perfect night together — "the greatest" for both of them. However, their young love is cut short by a tragic accident, leaving Rose alone and pregnant with Bennett's baby. Desperate, Rose seeks out his family for support.
While Bennett's death leaves everyone to deal with grief differently, his parents discover the only way to bring them back together is to accept Rose into the family. Unable to bear her pain, Bennett's mother, Grace (Susan Sarandon), blames Rose for her son's death and resents her presence in the household. His father, Allen (Pierce Brosnan), instead uses Rose as a crutch to shut out his own grief. Allen's refusal to talk about Bennett creates marital issues between him and Grace. Meanwhile, their other son Ryan (Johnny Simmons) hides his emotions and withdraws from the family.
While Rose's presence definitely has an effect on the family, the main focus is on the relationship between Grace and Allen. Allen plays the role of the pillar of strength for the family, showing no outward signs of his internal mourning and suffering. His apparent lack of care for their dead son leaves Grace upset. And at several points throughout the movie, Rose and Allen appear more like a couple than Grace and Allen, creating another source of tension for the married couple.
Rose must face the loss of the time she could have had with Bennett. Even though the basis for the affection between them seems superficial, the film accurately portrays their love as perfect, precisely because it cannot be fulfilled. Flashbacks spread throughout the movie are the only tantalizing hints the audience and Rose get of Bennett's character. Like Rose, the audience yearns to know more about the man she should have gotten to know better.
The superb acting from the entire cast makes "The Greatest" even more moving and depressing than the plot suggests. The most touching scene surprisingly comes not from Bennett's parents or Rose, but from Ryan and his admission that he must forever live with the fact that he never got the chance to say goodbye to his brother. The Brewer family comes within inches of breaking under the strain of personal pain, even causing Rose to run away.
However, Rose's desire to learn more about Bennett enables the family to open up and appreciate his life, healing in the process. Once Grace realizes that Bennett truly cared for Rose and there was nothing anyone could have done to prevent his death, she allows herself to stop hating Rose. And when Grace starts to pull together a bit more, Allen finally allows himself to release his emotions.
While this film is heavy and offers no easy answers to pain, it brings comfort in its authenticity and the sharing of mutual heartbreak. "The Greatest" is worth seeing, if not just for the cathartic experience, but also for the strong acting and beauty of great, unfulfilled love.
