The movie is also known as “Richard Says Goodbye”.
Plot
Richard Brown, an English professor at a New England college, is in his doctor’s office when he is informed that he has advanced stage 4 lung cancer that has spread throughout his body and is terminal. The doctor estimates his life expectancy to be six months without therapy, but this could be extended to 12-18 months with cancer treatment. Richard is devastated by the news and walks through town and into a pond while fully clothed.
When Richard arrives home for dinner, he decides to break the bad news to his wife, Veronica, and only child, Olivia, but his daughter reveals that she is a homosexual. Richard is relieved because he had feared the worst, while Veronica dismisses her daughter as going through a phase, prompting Olivia to storm out. Veronica confronts Richard about her affair with Henry Wright, the dean of the college where he works. He accuses her of lacking taste. Richard does not deliver the news; when Veronica asks what he was about to say, he responds that he was concerned that he had overcooked the steak.
The next day, Richard begins weeding out kids who he believes are not sincerely committed to English and reading. He offers everyone a C if they leave the class because it is of no interest to them. He advises that they each read a book and then provide a lesson on why it is important. Anyone who does not want to do this should walk; they will still receive a C. Richard is left with a small, core group of students. He dismisses them, stating that he is going on a 72-hour bender and that if anyone knows where to buy marijuana, they should contact his office.
At home, Richard and his wife agree to live their lives as they wish, but discreetly in order to protect their daughter. Veronica requests to test his medications, assuming they are recreational prescription pills rather than cancer therapy. Olivia arrives with her lover and is humiliated to discover both parents inebriated and high.
Richard approaches his friend, Peter Matthew, the chairman of his department, to arrange for an emergency sabbatical. Peter says it’s impossible on such short notice, but Richard presses him. Finally, Richard informs him that he is dying from cancer. Peter promises he’ll do his best to get him time off work.
Richard expresses his dissatisfaction to his students and asks them not to fall into the same pitfalls that he has. The pupils are extremely responsive, with one of them, Danny, later offering Richard some cannabis brownies and a sexual encounter in Richard’s office.
Peter persuades Richard to attend a therapeutic group for persons with terminal cancer, but Richard leaves, calling it a circle-jerk and wishing everyone well in their coming deaths. The two find up in a bar, where Claire, one of his students, appears. She informs them that she is the dean’s niece. Peter goes home intoxicated, but Richard stays with Claire and informs her that he has cancer. She asks him to slow dance with her.
Richard’s drinking and recreational drug use worsens with time. In one incident, he passes out and requires hospitalization due to his acute alcoholism. He is directed to Henry’s office, probably for a verbal warning about his behavior on campus, but he surprises Henry by revealing that he is aware of his affair and has violated faculty standards by giving Veronica college funding for her sculptures. Soon after, Richard is informed that he would receive his sabbatical.
At a final seminar, Claire observes from her reading that love is a method to get to know another person. Richard appreciates this, and in his final comments (and grades) to his students, he emphasizes the necessity of seizing one’s own existence, understanding that we will all die, and valuing the (limited) time we have left.
Richard is sitting at a table in the rear of the room, away from his wife, during a faculty dinner. Richard eloquently chastises the dean, tells his wife that he loves her for what it’s worth, and informs the entire faculty and families that he is dying, which slightly surprises his wife and the other guests.
Olivia comes home distraught since her partner cheated on her with a boy. Richard consoles her and tells her he is proud of her before revealing that he is dying. He decides to leave his house and family for a sabbatical. In the last scene, Richard comes at a fork in the road but decides to take neither and instead develops an other route, driving across a field into the darkness with his dog by his side.
Cast and Crew
Johnny Depp as Richard Brown
Rosemarie DeWitt as Veronica Sinclair-Brown
Odessa Young as Olivia Brown
Danny Huston as Peter Matthew
Zoey Deutch as Claire
Devon Terrell as Danny Albright
Ron Livingston as Henry Wright
Siobhan Fallon Hogan as Donna
Linda Emond as Barbara Matthew
Matreya Scarrwener as Rose
Paloma Kwiatkowski as Student
Kaitlyn Bernard as Taylor
Michael Kopsa as Richard’s Doctor
Production
On May 8, 2017, it was revealed that Johnny Depp would act as a college lecturer in the comedy-drama film Richard Says Goodbye, written and directed by Wayne Roberts following his debut film Katie Says Goodbye, and that IM Global would fully finance the project.
The film would be produced by Brian Kavanaugh Jones’ Automatik Entertainment in collaboration with Greg Shapiro of IM Global. On July 20, 2017, Zoey Deutch was cast in the film as one of the professor’s students. On July 25, 2017, the rest of the major cast was confirmed, including Danny Huston, Rosemarie DeWitt, Devon Terrell, and Odessa Young.
Filming Locations
Royal Roads University – 2005 Sooke Rd, Victoria, British Columbia, Kanada
New Westminster, British Columbia, Kanada
Trivia
There is a dedication to Betty Sue Depp, Johnny’s mother, at the very end.
