‘Come See Me In The Good Light’ review: Affecting doc follows US poet Andrea Gibson’s cancer battle

Dir: Ryan White. US. 2025. 105mins

As they battled terminal most cancers, acclaimed US poet Andrea Gibson was decided to stay till at the very least 50 – a want that didn’t come true as they died in July 2025, lower than a month earlier than their golden birthday. However Come See Me In The Good Mild pays tribute to their indomitable spirit, the documentary celebrating their life and artistry as they grappled with mortality. Director Ryan White’s movie is an emotional viewing expertise that was accomplished earlier than Gibson’s passing, its shifting centrepiece the poet’s long-term loving relationship with fellow author Megan Falley.

A reflective, philosophical tone

Premiering at this yr’s Sundance, the place it gained the Pageant Favourite Award, Come See Me had a wholesome pageant run with a number of awards and a restricted US launch on November 14 prior to now streaming on Apple TV. Awards hopes are mounting for the movie; it lately snagged a field-leading six nominations on the Cinema Eye Honors, together with for function and course, and this tearjerking, life-affirming journey ought to ring a bell with Oscar voters.

In 2021, Gibson was identified with ovarian most cancers, leading to years of chemotherapy and different remedies. Because the most cancers begins to unfold, documentarian White (Critics’ Alternative documentary winner Good Evening Oppy) spends time with Gibson and Falley within the couple’s Colorado residence, observing how they regulate to Gibson’s unsure future. Come See Me additionally spotlights a few of Gibson’s best-known poems, in addition to Gibson’s reflections on being a clumsy baby who, rising up, felt extra like a boy though they offered as a woman.

Though Blake Neely’s sentimental rating can usually be intrusive, Come See Me affords a frank, recognisable depiction of life with most cancers. It seems that White has not considerably altered the documentary since Sundance, not revealing that Gibson died a couple of months after its pageant premiere. However most viewers will in all probability concentrate on that reality, which makes Gibson’s onscreen vitality all of the extra poignant.

Making their identify as a spoken-word poet who first developed their voice within the slam-poetry scene, Gibson has a glowing talking type in dialog, however their efficiency of their humorous, bittersweet poems is especially spectacular in its musicality. Charting the ups and downs of a most cancers prognosis — an encouraging medical report is adopted by a devastating one — Come See Me has a gripping urgency that briefly distracts the viewers from the data that Gibson’s story will finally be a tragic one.

As a counterbalance, the documentary focuses on the deep love between Gibson and Falley. Each of them artists, they enormously revered one another’s work, providing robust however sincere suggestions. As a lot as Come See Me is a portrait of sickness, it’s additionally a salute to a artistic and romantic partnership that solely grew richer after Gibson’s prognosis. White was given substantial entry to Gibson and Falley’s life and delicately dissects the couple’s bond, talking to every of them individually to raised perceive their rapport.  The couple categorical themselves brazenly, possessing a thoughtfulness and emotional intelligence that have been clearly essential substances of their relationship

Particularly touching is Falley’s admission that she typically feels overwhelmed by the enormity of her companion’s battle — greater than 10 years youthful than Gibson, she confesses she’s unsure she’s geared up for this unfathomable grief. These doubting feedback solely underline what a terrifically supportive companion she is all through Come See Me, remaining optimistic through the darkest of occasions. (Tellingly, Gibson tells White that they concern Falley may be in denial about what’s coming.)

Simply as Gibson finally embraces their inevitable passing, so too does the documentary undertake a reflective, philosophical tone that’s powerfully affecting. For a lot of their younger life, Gibson suffered from suicidal ideas, and so they savour the darkish irony that most cancers has helped them absolutely recognize dwelling. White lands on an natural comfortable ending that doesn’t negate Gibson’s unhappy circumstance however, as a substitute, reinforces all the pieces that was so inspirational about their poetry and worldview.