Filming straight after what would turn out to be her big break, An Education, Carey Mulligan offers up a touchingly vulnerable performance in this quietly moving family drama. She plays a young college student whose boyfriend (Aaron Johnson) is killed in a car accident just after they have slept together for the first time. Her own mother is in rehab, so when Mulligan discovers that she is pregnant, she moves in with the dead boy's family. But while philandering father Pierce Brosnan (revelling again in playing a dislikeable character) is welcoming, the mother (Susan Sarandon) has still not come to terms with the tragedy. Although director Shana Feste doesn't completely avoid the usual tear-jerker clichés, the low-key direction and classy performances ensure that this weepie never gets too mawkish.

Teenagers Rose and Bennett were in love, and then a car crash claimed Bennett's life. He left behind a grieving mother, father and younger brother, and Rose was left all alone. She has no family to turn to for support, so when she finds out she's pregnant, she winds up at the Brewer's door. She needs their help, and although they can't quite admit it, they each need her so they can begin to heal.