[2][3] The film spans several decades in the unconventional life of feisty nonagenarian Hagar Shipley, who sets off on a journey to reconcile herself with her past when she discovers her son Marvin and daughter-in-law Doris are moving her into a nursing home.

No longer able to repress her emotions, she realizes the bad decisions and misjudgments she made throughout her life were a result of her resolute stubbornness, and eventually she is able to find closure with Marvin.

"[4] Stephen Holden of The New York Times thought it was "a film of tightly assembled bits and pieces that don’t fit comfortably together despite clever dashes of magical realism connecting past and present" and felt although "this multigenerational family history has enough gripping moments to hold your attention .

He added, "Ms. Burstyn’s scenery-chewing performance, utterly devoid of vanity, makes her a spiritual cousin of Aurora Greenway in Terms of Endearment.

"[5] Eddie Cockrell of Variety called the film "tastefully reverent" and "fundamentally sincere" but felt it suffered from "generational cross-cutting that's both rushed and cluttered" and "would have have(sic) been better served as a more leisurely miniseries.