Humane

After environmental collapse slimmed humanity by 20 percent, a close-knit family dinner becomes a pressure cooker for fear, secrets, and competing loyalties. The Yorks gather under one roof as Jared, Rachel, Noah, Ashley, and Mia wrestle with a new government euthanasia program announced to manage the crisis. A father's plan to opt in to this program collides with old resentments, financial stress, and a fear of what the state will demand in the name of public safety. What begins as a routine meal spirals into a tense contest of wills as love, guilt, and survival motives collide, pushing each character toward a brink. Old grudges surface as the dinner reveals fault lines that threaten to fracture them tonight.

Directed by Caitlin Cronenberg and written by Michael Sparaga, Humane released in 2024. The film centers on a family locked in a high tension dinner, blending intimate drama with a sharp dystopian premise rooted in an original screenplay. Cronenberg crafts a claustrophobic atmosphere through restrained dialogue and clinical visuals.

The film sharpens the tension between family loyalty and a looming bureaucratic clampdown on life and death decisions, probing autonomy, authority, and moral responsibility. The euthanasia program is depicted as impersonal and bureaucratic, which raises questions about consent and equity and invites debate about the state's reach in reviews globally.

Box office details have not been publicly disclosed. The film appeared in select theaters and on streaming platforms, but official grosses have not yet been published. This lack of numbers keeps discussion focused on mood and ideas.

There are no confirmed major nominations or wins for Humane. Given its indie scale and limited release, its awards prospects appear modest at this stage, though Cronenberg's direction and the ensemble cast may attract some festival attention within the genre circuit and spark ongoing academic discussion.