Directed by Ami Canaan Mann, “Audrey’s Children” tells the untold, true story of legendary oncologist and co-founder of Ronald McDonald House Charities, Dr. Audrey Evans (Natalie Dormer).
“Audrey’s Children” was showcased at the Austin Film Festival on Wednesday. Set in Philadelphia in 1969, newly recruited British physician, Dr. Evans, works for a world-renowned children’s hospital where she develops revolutionary treatments alongside her colleagues Dr. Dan (Jimmi Simpson) and Dr. Brian (Brandon Micheal Hall). Evans faces sexism, career threats and grief as she works on a study that would soon impact the lives of millions of children around the world.
Within ten seconds of appearing on screen, the audience familiarizes themselves with Evans as she knows what she wants, exudes confidence and would go to war for her patients — which she refers to as her children. On her first day of work, surrounded by pompous men, Evans proposes her trial for a new cancer treatment. She immediately gets picked apart and informed that her trial would wait in a year-long queue for funding. However, viewers soon find out that once Evans sets her mind on something, she often gets her way.
This film highlights families with financial hardships and shows that many children are often pulled out of treatment because their families have no place to stay and lack money for hospital bills. Throughout the film, Evans runs around to raise funds for these families, before coming up with the idea for a house that shelters families with sick children. Evans eventually gets funding for this house from the Philadelphia Eagles, and later in the film, a brief one-liner suggests McDonald’s also donated the profit earned from their Shamrock Shakes, thus forming the Ronald McDonald House Charities.
Perhaps the only flaw remains the lack of detail given to the audience about how and when Evans founded and later expanded these Ronald McDonald House Charities. The film focuses on Evans and her race against time as she develops a groundbreaking cancer treatment, making it seem like the Ronald McDonald House proved merely a side project for her. This part of the plot felt rather rushed and thrown together, as it lightly touched on the house’s funding and timeline during the film’s last ten minutes.
Though a hasty end, this film proved nothing short of beautiful. After years of treating children with neuroblastoma, Evans reduced the cancer’s mortality rate by about 50%. Currently, the survival rate is about 80% for low-risk patients.
Moviegoers should grab tissues before watching “Audrey’s Children” because it ensures not a single dry eye in the house. This film proves a testament that a true hero doesn’t always wear a cape, sometimes she wears a leotard.
4 heart-shaped clouds out of 5
