Films based around terminal illnesses are a difficult ones to tackle from a filmmaking standpoint. They can cross the line of being sincere and sensitive to simply being manipulative and exploitative for awards. Now Is Good is not emotionally powerful it wants to be, but never solely manipulative to get your sympathy. Now is Good is about a girl, Tessa, dying of leukemia compiles a list of things she'd like to do before passing away. Clocking at around 103 minutes this often cliched story will not reach to you emotionally. That mostly because of how Tessa is written. Granted it's nice to see Tessa is not entirely depress knowing she's going to die and going against the general response anyone will have about her terminal illness. What's not good is making her appear as a brat in certain situations. Mostly she says awful things towards her father who helped her through every stepped since she was diagnosed with leukemia. You can't help at times but sympathize more with the father instead of the terminally ill Tessa. There's a romantic subplot that carries alot of dramatic weight. The romantic subplot can get corny at times. It adds layer Tessa which benefits how we care about her. One subplot that was unneeded involved Tessa best friend. It was created to manipulate the viewer emotions. It's a tragic subplot, but we don't see Tessa and her best together much to for strong story telling. Regardless of the script problems that sour the experience it's a satisfying story. Dakota Fanning is great in her dramatic role. She's sarcastic, enduring, and emotionally moving. She's give an skillful take on her role outshining all the actors. While it's at times hard to find Fanning likable because of how her character treats people she doesn't downplay those certain scenes in order for us to sympathize with her more. You grow an attachment to her making it difficult to watch scenes where she's being treated or learning bad news difficult to take in. Fanning co-stars were not as good, but that's nothing taking away from them. Co-star Jeremy Irvine is easy to a liking to with sensitive yet lighthearted nature. The other actors are fine, but the scenes between Jeremy Irvine and Dakota Fanning are easily the best. The production is modest. It's not going to impress in you anyway. The score is terrific, but are relied too heavily on to draw an emotion from the viewer. Now Is Good doesn't bring anything original to the story it telling, but a decent story and brilliant performance from Dakota Fanning overcome it shortcomings. It won't be as popular as other films tackling it subject matter, though it is a fantastic showcase for Dakota Fanning acting.

Fanning gives an assured performance with a convincing English accent but no amount of quality acting can make up for how unlikable her character is. She's little more than a spoilt brat who treats everyone around her with contempt, even her loving father, Considine, the only remotely sympathetic character in the film. At one point Fanning even uses her illness as an excuse to avoid a shop-lifting charge. I'm not naive enough to believe everyone who is diagnosed with a terminal illness faces it with dignity but many do. I'd much rather one of their stories be told than that of a bitter teen who insists on making everyone else's life unbearable. With this character you can't help think if she was healthy she'd have something else to moan about. She's indicative of the worst of today's youth. When asked what she wants from life her reply is "fame". Not renown, not respect, just fame for the sake of it. Her equally self-involved boyfriend, Irvine, decides to help her achieve this by graffiti-ing her name all over town. Nothing says "I Love You" like a bit of criminal damage at someone else's expense. As if the movie wasn't setting a bad enough example for teens, we also get an anti-abortion message shoe-horned into the plot. Her best friend, Scodelario, is a particularly reprehensible little oik who steals ATM cards from strangers and seems to spend most of her time stoned. When she becomes pregnant all you can think is "Abort! Abort!" but of course she decides to keep the child. What a future that poor kid is in for.