Holding on Through the Unknown

Read Time:5 Minute, 14 Second

MOVIE REVIEW
Come See Me in the Good Light
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Genre: Documentary, Romance, Drama
Year Released: 2025
Runtime: 1h 44m
Director(s): Ryan White
Where to Watch: releasing on Apple TV November 14, 2025

RAVING REVIEW: The most striking thing about COME SEE ME IN THE GOOD LIGHT is how unafraid it is to embrace joy. That statement might seem simple, almost naïve, considering the film centers on the living reality of an incurable cancer diagnosis. Yet there’s nothing naïve happening here — this is a documentary that insists life is meant to be lived, even when the clock is no longer subtle about its presence. Director Ryan White captures this belief through the relationship between poets Andrea Gibson and Megan Falley, who face the brutality of illness with a partnership that balances a delicate rope between humor and heartbreak. The result is a film that feels remarkably alive, present, and emotionally precise.

White avoids the trap of treating mortality as spectacle. Instead, he follows Gibson and Falley through the everyday rituals that become something more when time grows short — a shared laugh, a poem scribbled in the car, a moment when fear clears the space for deeper affection. There’s a deep humanity in the way the film shows sickness; Gibson’s diagnosis isn’t framed as a narrative twist or a motivator for melodrama. It’s simply their life, and therefore the story. That matter-of-fact approach heightens the intimacy far more effectively than any forced sentiment could.

One of the documentary’s biggest achievements is its handling of humor. It trusts that laughter isn’t a betrayal of grief — it’s a reaction to surviving another day. Gibson’s wit is sharp, sometimes delightfully dark, and Falley’s responses feel like the kind of support that isn’t coated in false positivity. Their chemistry ensures the audience isn’t merely observing a couple facing tragedy; we’re watching two people who refuse to let tragedy define their relationship. When the film leans into the humor, it becomes clear how vital relief can be in the face of uncertainty.

The poetry interwoven throughout is more than a flourish — it’s testimony. These two artists have made careers from their own emotional exposure, and White ensures their creative voices aren’t lost in the narrative of illness. Spoken verse appears not as performance but as communication between them, a language built from survival, longing, resilience, and a fierce refusal to disappear. Anyone unfamiliar with their work will still feel its impact; the words land because they matter to the speakers.

As uplifting as the film is, it still acknowledges the weight of its subject. There are quieter passages where the façade drops — moments filled with exhaustion, fear, or the tension that can come from living in a battlefield disguised as a hospital room. White is careful not to overextend these sequences; he doesn’t romanticize struggle or treat vulnerability as currency. Instead, he allows these moments to exist, balancing them with all the reasons Gibson and Falley still choose to hold on to hope.

White’s direction is attentive and compassionate, though stylistically conservative. There are no jarring structure shifts — and that feels intentional, not timid. His filmmaking prioritizes clarity of story and a close connection to his subjects. The camera doesn’t impose; it observes. The editing allows space for silence, letting the poetry breathe. In an era where some documentaries chase stylistic innovation for its own sake, something refreshing is about a documentary that simply trusts intimate storytelling to carry its impact.

What lingers most after the credits is not devastation — it’s warmth. COME SEE ME IN THE GOOD LIGHT reminds us how much love reshapes the idea of time. That doesn’t mean the film denies the future Gibson and Falley fear, but it emphasizes the present they protect. Their love story isn’t about overcoming cancer; it’s about rewriting what the remaining chapters should look like. It celebrates the selfishness of wanting more days together and the generosity of making each one matter. The film invites viewers to ask themselves not how long life is, but how deeply it can be lived.

This movie is best described as a gentle, hand-held tale — an affirmation that laughter and grief can coexist without canceling each other out. It’s the kind of documentary that will leave many audiences reaching for tissues, but not because it devastates. Instead, it fills viewers with the reminder that we are all temporary, and that knowledge doesn’t have to darken the experience. It can brighten it. COME SEE ME IN THE GOOD LIGHT succeeds not by making death cinematic but by making love undeniable. It’s a celebration of partnership in the face of uncertainty — an expression of gratitude for every moment that still shines, even when shadows grow longer.

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[photo courtesy of APPLE TV, AMPLIFY PICTURES, SOMETHING FIERCE PRODUCTIONS, TRIPOD MEDIA]

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