Written by Andrew Ortenberg and directed by Andrew Johnson, When I’m Ready is a quietly tragic, but still very poignant movie about finding happiness as the world around you ends—literally. The movie, which focuses on a young couple who decide the last days before an extinction-level event could wipe out all life on the plane should be spent out on the road together, is both a romantic comedy, a thriller, and an exploration of what’s important in life and what it takes for you to really see it.
Andrew Ortenberg and June Schreiner star as our two leads, Rose and Michael. When we meet them the two have embarked on a road trip to see Rose’s grandmother one last time—but as they do that, the two not only come across people who make them reconsider what living means (alongside them the delightful Lauren Cohan, and a Dermot Mulroney who almost steals the show) but fight to find both meaning and adventure in the little time they have left.
When I’m Ready is, by virtue of its premise, a somewhat sad affair. Everyone’s always contemplating the end, even though there’s still some possibility—however small it might be—that there will be some survivors. But the movie isn’t about life post-apocalypse. It isn’t even about if there will even be one. Instead, it’s about coming to terms with the end and learning to appreciate life and the people you had.
Ortenberg and particularly Schreiner are delightful as a young couple struggling to come to terms with the end—of life, of their relationship, of possibilities. But they’re not the only ones who elevate the film. Lauren Cohan delivers a powerful performance as Julia, a former beauty queen holding out hope for love, even in the face of the apocalypse. Because the real question isn’t when do you give up? It’s why should you when you don’t have anything else to lose?
But it’s perhaps Dermot Mulroney, who gives the most affecting performance in the film. Mulroney is now a series regular on Chicago Fire, where he spends most of his time playing the straight boss Dom Pascal. Here, he plays Keith, a drifter in search of human connection. He’s also the character who reminds us of what’s important as we watch a movie about what we could lose and what we can gain, even while things are looking as bleak as they ever have.
There are, of course, other people. If you thought the world was ending, how would you react? Maybe you’d huddle up with your loved ones. Perhaps you’d take the opportunity to do something reckless that you always wanted to do and never dared to. Or who knows, maybe you’d just party. There are no right answers in When I’m Ready. There are just people coping with an increasingly desolate reality the best they can.
In a way, that’s the most relatable part. We don’t have to have the certainty the world is ending to wonder what we’d do if it were. How would we spend our last few days? Would we do good? Would we do bad? And, can we ever truly know our answer?
When I’m Ready is in theaters and available in digital.
Loved this movie