“Let the children come to me”

MPAA Rating: PG
Reel Rating: 3.5 out of 5 reels

Cancer is a horrible, traitorous disease in which cells are warped and attack the body they serve. This is always tragic, but even more egregious in children who have just started their lives. When British-born American pediatric oncologist Dr. Audrey Evans (Natalie Dormer) began her practice in 1969 at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP), children had a 10% survival rate. By her death in 2022, that rate had risen to 80%, due significantly to her efforts. Audrey’s Children tells her amazing story of determination, endurance, and love that brought comfort and healing to untold numbers.

When Evans is appointed the director of oncology at CHOP, she is already a well-established researcher and physician for over a decade, but is still brimming with new ideas and enthusiasm. At the time, the most common practice was to use a “light touch” with chemotherapy and radiation to minimize pain in young bodies. Evans argues for a more aggressive approach that increases the dosage but also localizes and individualizes treatment. To this end, she teams up with Dr. Dan D’Angio (Jimmi Simpson), a shy but talented colleague, to work through mountains of previously unexamined data to back up her theory.

In addition to improving her patients’ chances, she also recognizes the enormous financial burden medical care, food, and housing put on these stressed and often low-income families and seeks to find a way they can stay with their children free of charge.

Evans is a great example of the famous adage that vocation “is where your heart’s deepest longing meets the world’s greatest need.” From the time she was a young girl in pre-war Britain, Evans wanted to be a doctor and help children. The film shows her spending every waking moment working or raising money, rarely staying in her small apartment, and often eating dinner in the basement of the hospital while going over cases with D’Angio. Although they clearly love one another, they put off getting married until 2005, when both were nearly eighty, and even so had a short ceremony at 7:30 am so they could make their rounds an hour later. A devout Anglican, he sees her job as a religious calling from God, saying that she “was put on this Earth to help children.”

Despite their obvious admiration for Evans, the filmmakers are also honest about her flaws. Her headstrong nature means she is often rude and obstinate towards those she perceives as obstacles. In her first months at CHOP, it’s fair to say she makes more enemies than friends. She deliberately breaks hospital protocol to advance her theories, almost resulting in an expulsion on one occasion. It can be frustrating when you believe policies are worn out and need to be torn down, but it is also important to be prudent, especially in the medical profession. Wisdom, a gift of the Holy Spirit, is needed to properly discern these situations, something Evans appears to learn gradually during her career.

The Hippocratic Oath famously specifies that the first rule is “Do no harm.” Yet this becomes murkier when cancer treatments can have such horrible effects and consequences. Despite her zealous nature, Evans is acutely aware of this and always puts the needs of her children before personal glory. Like Jesus, she is not driven by accolades or money, but by genuine love for God’s purest creatures. Many in today’s success-driven culture look at such people with disdain. Why waste hundreds of thousands of dollars and years of medical treatment on a kid who hasn’t contributed anything and may only live a short time?

Because they are precious in God’s sight and infinitely valuable. This doesn’t mean Evans avoids reality or is shy about facing difficult situations. Most of her early patients die, sometimes right in front of her. She frequently talks about heaven—not in a trite or condescending fashion, but with the conviction of someone who believes. Yes, it is a mystery why suffering exists and why innocent children can go through so much suffering. But it also brings out the best in people, as the actions of Evans and others demonstrate throughout the film.

Audrey’s Children is a little dull at times, particularly for those unfamiliar with medical jargon, but it is well-crafted and often compelling. Natalie Dormer’s performance is also the best I’ve seen in any film this year so far. She reminded me of Jesus’ command, “Let the little children come to me.” My kids, thank the Lord, do not have cancer but deserve no less attention from me than what Audrey gives to her patients. It is that selfless focus that is her greatest gift.