Starting at the End

Its one thing for a doctor to support in theory a terminally ill patients right to die with dignity, quite another to be the person asked to end their brothers suffering. When Robert, a doctor, learns that his older brother Jim, a successful rock n roll pianist he hasnt seen in more than 20 years, has returned to England from the USA, he and his wife Barbara go to see him. While there, Jims wife Scarlet confirms Roberts suspicion that Jim is in the advanced stages of cancer. Robert, against Barbaras strongly held views, is on the verge of signing an open letter that will call for a public conversation about assisted dying, and finds himself moving quickly from supporting the idea in theory to confronting the thought of ending a persons life in reality. While Robert and Scarlet are drawn together, the conflicting feelings Robert and Jim have about their childhood culminate in a fierce row and Robert storms out. Jim becomes desperate for his brother to bring an end to his suffering before he loses the ability to play music, and Barbara urges Robert not to do anything that will destroy her trust in him. Robert is drawn back to visit Jim again, but will he risk sacrificing everything hes ever worked for his career, his marriage, even his freedom for a brother he barely knows?