The Graduates

Peterson’s script is frustratingly single-note and occasionally bends toward unearned sentimentality. Still, “The Graduates” feels true to its milieu.

A tender coming-of-age drama, the kind of movie that’s heavy on emotions but quietly so.

While Hannah Peterson, with her emphasis on quiet moments and mementos mori, effectively suffuses The Graduates with a mournful absence of life, she also reminds us of the warmth that can be so typical of high school.

A quiet but wrenching drama by writer/director Hannah Peterson.

It’s a compelling subject, for sure, but one on which no dramatic treatments have been nearly as astute or profound as what’s already been in the news.

A story that needs to be told, made by a filmmaker who we can only hope has many more tales to share.

With its nuanced performances and compassionate eye, this delicate film shows how, as one character says, we’re all going into the unknown—and we keep moving forward, taking those we loved and lost with us.

This drama is a sensitive examination of how grief can turn lives inside out.

This is essentially about the survivor's instinct and how grief is processed, and the various levels are fascinating to encounter, especially with the two young high school students. John Cho is remarkable as a father who projects a different way to cope.

The Graduates isn’t anything revelatory – its themes have been explored through film time and time again – but it has enough heart to feel meaningful.