Diane is a 2018 American drama film written and directed by Kent Jones in his narrative directorial debut.

It received generally positive reviews from critics, who praised Place's performance and Jones' direction and screenplay.

At the 35th Independent Spirit Awards, the film earned two nominations: Best First Feature and Best Female Lead (for Place).

She makes a brief stop to pick a teacher friend from school before delivering clean clothes to her adult son Brian.

He claims to be suffering from bronchitis and is angered at Diane's insinuation that he is not sober and needs to go back to the hospital where he detoxed.

Brian continues to object to his mother's visits, while Donna rejects her nurses' offer of morphine and instead engages in playing gin rummy with Diane.

Diane volunteers at a soup kitchen, where one of her favorite regulars, Tom, engages her in friendly conversation.

Bobbie distracts her by talking about the history of the buffet restaurant they are eating at and how terrible the food is, which makes Diane laugh.

On a night where Diane works at the soup kitchen, Tom is reprimanded by another worker for attempting to go through the serving line a third time.

Diane intervenes, tells Tom to get as much food as he wants, and upbraids the other worker, yelling at her about how she has no right to humiliate people just because they are poor.

As Diane struggles to regain her composure, Bobbie gently tells her to take as much time as she needs "and come out when you're good and ready."

As she enters the room to see her family quietly watching Donna in her last moments, her phone rings.

Diane begins writing confessional poetry, seemingly inspired by the work of Emily Dickinson, which she keeps by her bedside.

In the film's final scene, a visibly older Diane stands outside, filling bird feeders in the snow.

Kent Jones took decades and multiple drafts to complete the screenplay for Diane,[3] which was inspired by the women in his family.

The website's consensus reads: "A small-scale drama rich with meaning, Diane offers audiences an uncommonly empathetic and wise look at life — and stellar work from Mary Kay Place in the title role.

"[18] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 86 out of 100, based on 28 critics, indicating "universal acclaim".

[19] Justin Chang of the Los Angeles Times described the film as "a wise, captivating and continually surprising character study" and commented, "Place commands nearly every frame with a kind of hard-bitten luminosity.

"[20] Jeannette Catsoulis of The New York Times stated, "Diane amounts to an act of cinematic bravery, not just in its choice of tough-sell material, but in the patience with which Jones tends it.

Parts of his story don't quite work; but by examining a life from the angle of its final destination, the movie offers a rich and tender study of a woman hollowed out by remorse.

"[21] Ann Hornaday of The Washington Post gave the film 3 out of 4 stars and remarked, "Thanks to Place's down-to-earth, unaffected performance and the filmmaker's own sensitivity, Diane grows in scope and sensibility, taking on the epic dimensions of time and the unbreakable ties that bind.

"[22] Owen Gleiberman of Variety noted, "Diane is the most accomplished dramatic feature I've seen at the Tribeca Film Festival.

Gleiberman also wrote, "Place's performance has a forlorn gravity, but it's also full of spirit and pluck, and an anger you don't want to get in the way of" and "the film's ending is majestic.

"[24] David Rooney of The Hollywood Reporter stated, "Although the drama appears to be veering toward devastating tragedy, it makes a graceful turn instead in a more contemplative, interior direction, reflecting on time and memory.

"[26] Nell Minow of RogerEbert.com gave the film 3.5 out of 4 stars and wrote, "Kent has assembled a superb group of character actors here, who tell lived-in stories with extraordinary sensitivity and grace.