​​​​​​In Come See Me in the Good Light, the powerful documentary by Ryan White, there’s a scene where Poet Laureate Andrea Gibson reads the results of their latest bloodwork to their wife, Megan Falley. In 2021, Gibson was diagnosed with ovarian cancer, and despite rounds of chemotherapy, Gibson was told that the cancer was incurable. Yet Gibson keeps fighting, planning to go as long as they can. However, the test results aren’t good. The cancer is spreading, and the treatment clearly isn’t going as planned. Among this tearful realization, Gibson states, “all of us are going to have this moment” — a moment where we realize the end is near, and we’ll have to reckon with the thought that very soon, we will not exist in this world anymore. It’s these realizations and the exploration of these truths that made Gibson such an incredible poet. Throughout Come See Me in the Good Light, Gibson’s poems are presented almost as extensions of their life; feelings and lessons they learned that are like parts of their heart being presented for us to learn from, to grow from, to become better because they exist. As White chronicles this health struggle for Gibson and Falley, Gibson shows, through their actions, love, and poems, the beauty of life, that we should cherish every moment we’re given — and even though we’ll all have that revelation that life is coming to an end, we should make the moments up until the end truly count.
‘Come See Me in the Good Light’ Celebrates the Beauty of Life, Both Good and Bad

Throughout Come See Me in the Good Light, White presents these painful moments with the same optimism that Gibson has, appreciating each quiet moment, soaking in the moments with friends, and absorbing every moment of life left within Gibson. Gibson and Falley are constantly fighting for more time, yet they’re acknowledging just how precious each day they have together truly is. In doing that, Come See Me in the Good Light could’ve been presented as a tragedy, but instead, it’s a true celebration of life and how important the things we take for granted can be in our precious lives. In following that, White looks at the lives of Gibson and Falley, both separate and together. Instead of running down their history, White doles out information here and there, giving us glimpses of this couple that we quickly grow to love. White shows us Gibson’s rise to fame in the slam poetry world, how, as a kid, they had fears about being queer, but used poetry as a way to confront those worries and the things they bottled up inside. In recent years, with the risk of everything being taken away, Gibson found a new love for life after years of being deeply suicidal and wondering if they could go on.

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Similarly, White shows Falley’s life and how she struggled with her own body issues, finding comfort in being able to present those worries through her own poetry career. But it’s when these two find each other that each of them seems they have found that last missing puzzle piece of who they are. Gibson gives Falley the confidence that she never had before, while Falley gives Gibson the comfort and love that they needed even before their diagnosis. First and foremost, Come See Me in the Good Light is a love story between these two poets, absorbing one another while they still can. At one point, Falley makes a video of herself singing Shania Twain’s “You’re Still the One” to Gibson, so that they can see how she’ll look when she’s older. Gibson also uses the filter and becomes overwhelmed not only by getting to see themselves at an age they’ll never make it to, but seeing their wife at a point in her life where she’s older and wearing her years well. It’s such a simple act, yet one full of so much humor and pain that it will break your heart.
‘Come See Me in the Good Light’ Also Shows the Tremendous Power That Gibson’s Poetry Has

Come See Me in the Good Light is also striking in how it shows the unbelievable power of poetry — particularly the work of Gibson. As Gibson recites their work, White brings these words to life in ways that will move you to tears. In one poem, “Tincture,” Gibson explores the emotions that a spirit might experience when it leaves the body, and how it wants to feel anything once more, even if that thing is pain. The poem is overwhelming on its own, but having seen what Gibson has gone through up to this point, it has an entirely new weight to it, especially as a person doing everything to make sure their soul does not leave their body sooner than it must. In maybe the film’s most gorgeous moment, Gibson recites “A New Kind of Bucket List,” in which the poet mentions the smaller things that they want to appreciate, like treating hospital employees kindly after getting bad news, or fixing their mailbox that won’t stay up no matter how hard they try. As this poem is shared, we see these moments that Gibson gets to have that she once took for granted. Each poem is an essential part of who Gibson is, which is almost like a gift they’re giving the audience, as we can learn something from what they’ve noticed being this close to death, and how we should cherish every aspect of our lives, both the good and the bad. White, who previously directed such documentaries as Good Night Oppy and the Netflix series The Keepers, becomes almost a part of this relationship, even though we never see him, as the parties involved deal with this difficult period in their lives. Usually, this might seem a bit invasive for a director, yet Gibson and Falley treat him as a friend whom they can confide in with honesty. Even though White’s involvement does somewhat shift the narrative of the story, as he suggests that Gibson might want to do one last performance of their work, again, he’s never guiding the story in the direction he’d want. He’s simply a friend asking a question that leads Gibson to consider the possibility. Come See Me in the Good Light is a shattering, yet lovely documentary that’s easily one of the best of the year. White focuses on the love and beautiful moments that can happen around world-ending heartbreak, resulting in a stunning and tragic story about everything that makes life worth living. Thankfully, through their poems and this film, Gibson’s legacy will live on — and, hopefully, help others who may go through the same. Come See Me in the Good Light is now streaming on Apple TV.

Release Date

November 14, 2025

Runtime

109 minutes

Director

Ryan White

Producers

Tig Notaro, Jessica Hargrave, Ryan White, Stef Willen

Pros & Cons

Andrea Gibson and Megan Falley’s story is powerful and lovely in equal measure.
Director Ryan White brings out the overwhelming emotion in Gibson’s poetry through the film.
Come See Me in the Good Light does a beautiful job of showing how the small, quiet moments in life as some of the most important.