'See You When I See You' Review: Kaitlyn Dever Is an Underutilized Gem in Jay Duplass’ Stirring Film About Grief

A death in the family is never easy, but it's even harder when it's your sibling. That's the struggle that Cooper Raiff's Aaron Whistler has to face in the wake of the death of his sister, Leah (Kaitlyn Dever), in See You When I See You. Directed by Jay Duplass, the biographical film is based on writer Adam Cayton-Holland's memoir Tragedy Plus Time, and follows a family in the wake of their daughter's suicide and the grieving that follows. With heartfelt and emotional performances by the cast, See You When I See You is a stirring tale about survivor's guilt, grief, and reconnecting in the wake of tragedy. Though the film hits on all emotional notes, there's one crucial setback that holds back an otherwise moving story.

What Is 'See You When I See You About'?

See You When I See You opens with the Whistler family going through Leah's belongings in her house after her death. Her mom, Paige (Hope Davis), is sorting through her art while her father, Robert (David Duchovny), fights to keep even her finger paintings from her childhood. Her sister, Emily (Lucy Boynton), is trying to fish some koi out of the pond outside. The only person who is struggling to move forward is Leah's brother, Aaron. Although the entire family is mourning in the wake of Leah's suicide, the death has hit Aaron the hardest; Leah was his best friend and the person he was closest to in the family.

Failing to dig himself out of the grief, Aaron spirals out and starts drinking more, plagued by his memories of Leah and feeling guilt for not being able to stop her before she took her own life. As his life begins to fall apart, he finds hope after going to therapy with Dr. Anya (Poorna Jagannathan) and doing Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) therapy. The process is arduous and traumatic, but as the sessions unfold, we learn the truth of what happened the night of Leah's death and watch as Aaron slowly heals from the devastating loss.

'See You When I See You' Puts the Drama in Dramedy

Though See You When I See You is billed as a dramedy, the lion's share of its time is focused around the drama, with little pockets of comedy to keep it afloat. Though it's a bit miscategorized, the drama is necessary, especially given the serious subject matter. The majority of the story centers around Aaron, though we get glimpses of how the rest of the Whistler family is dealing with Leah's loss. The film utilizes dream sequences and flashbacks to slowly tell the story of Leah's death as we relive the night through Aaron's eyes, jumping back and forth between the reality of what happened that night and the safe place of Aaron's childhood.

Though Cayton-Holland is a comedian himself, the film deliberately avoids big laugh-out-loud moments, and considering it's based on Cayton-Holland's own journey with grief after his younger sister's suicide, the story isn't afraid to get into the nitty-gritty when it comes to Aaron's lowest moments. Duplass cleverly uses Dever as Leah in the moments when she's needed the most, either in a joyous memory of her at her brightest or in the more quietly devastating moments when Aaron must wrestle with the reality of never seeing his sister again. It's a thorough and honest look at the winding road that a person has to take after the loss of a loved one.

'See You When I See You's Weakest Link Brings the Entire Movie Down

Unfortunately, the film's weakest link lies in its lead, played by Cooper Raiff. See You When I See You is the first film Raiff is starring in where he's not the director, writer, or producer, and the result leaves much to be desired. Because the movie centers around Raiff's character, he is put in the spotlight, and when left to deal with a much heavier subject matter than any of his previous projects, the end result isn't up to snuff. While Raiff is no stranger to taking on heavier stories, the film spends an oddly long time focused on his relationship with his ex, Camila (Ariela Barer).

In Raiff's previous films, he often is portrayed as a down-on-his-luck but ultimately likable and slightly awkward guy who is just looking for love. This seems to be his safe zone, and he doesn't wander away from it with See You When I See You. But when you add his abrasive personality when he's drunk, it becomes almost insufferable. It exposes how toxic this type of personality can be, and rather than portraying him as a nice guy who is simply going through a tough time, he comes off as a man made of red flags and someone we want Camila to get away from rather than reconcile with.

'See You When I See You' Shouldn't Have Centered Around Cooper Raiff's Aaron

Ultimately, this all leads to the fact that the film is focusing on the wrong character. Raiff's performance is made worse by the fact that he is surrounded by actors who are top-caliber, and it puts Raiff's acting in stark contrast to all of them, feeling like he's punching far above his weight.

Although Cayton-Holland's memoir is obviously from his personal perspective, in the wake of Raiff's underwhelming performance, I can't help but wonder if this film would have been better served focusing on some of the other family members or even on Leah herself. Indeed, Dever is top-tier as the multifaceted Leah. In the few scenes she's in, we can see the nuance of her character and how she both lit up a room and fell to the depths of her own depression throughout her life.

In a memoir, the perspective obviously comes from just one person, but a film can look through the eyes of several characters and that's exactly what See You When I See You should have done in this case. Following Leah in the days before her suicide and then her family in the aftermath would have resulted in a much fuller story, supported by far stronger performances. But Dever is severely underutilized, and Leah ends up more as the subject of Aaron's sadness. It's a shame we can't delve deeper into her character beyond just Aaron's point of view.

The Supporting Performances in 'See You When I See You' Make the Movie

Similarly, Duchovny and Davis have their own storyline as parents, Robert and Paige, and though the story touches on some of their grief, it doesn't go deep enough. There's an odd twist near the end of the film with Paige that is only mentioned in passing, where we only see the result of the conflict after a time jump, despite how impactful the twist must be for this family. It once again feels like unexplored territory that feels far more fertile than just Aaron's journey.

It's Boynton, playing Aaron's more somber older sister, Emily, who has the most unrealized potential, however, especially as she opens up more to Aaron and reveals that she's always felt left out when it came to her siblings, considering how close Aaron and Leah were. Boynton gives a restrained but deeply moving performance and plays off of Raiff well in the quiet moments where they reminisce about Leah. And all of this serves to prove how selfish Aaron has become after Leah's death, a fact that grates throughout the movie but is aptly called out by the end.

Kumail Nanjiani, who also does double duty as a producer for the film, is also underutilized, appearing only briefly in a scene that feels extraneous in the grander scope of the story. He might help Aaron as he begins to heal, but it's Jagannathan's Dr. Anya who really leaves the strongest impact. At the end of the day, the supporting characters of See You When I See You are the ones who make the story as good as it is, and it's a pity they aren't given more room to breathe.

See You When I See You premiered at the 2026 Sundance Film Festival.