Film
Adele and Everything After
- Drama
- Slow-burning
A documentary about Marty, a socially isolated woman with a serious heart condition, and her transformative bond with Adele, her service dog. It's a quietly powerful film about connection, loss, and what it means to need someone—or something—completely. For anyone who's felt the weight of loneliness or understands the almost mystical comfort an animal can provide.
Should you watch it?
Watch it if you are drawn to intimate documentaries where a person's everyday routine and the bond with an animal carry the feeling without much explaining.
Skip it if the mood is gentle and the subject is illness and loneliness, so if you want outside stakes or a sharp argument, this may feel slight.
What it asks of you: Eighty-six minutes of patient watching, with long stretches of ordinary days, so it rewards staying with small moments rather than waiting for a plot.
Not sure? Find tonight's pick in a minute.
If you liked this
Blackfish2013
A documentary that examines the deep emotional bond between humans and captive animals, and what it costs when that relationship is forced to end. Haunting and unflinching about attachment and separation.
But It's politically charged and operates partly as activism, which can feel didactic if you're not already inclined to the argument.
Year of the Dog2007
A quiet, tender film about a woman whose life revolves around her dog, and how that devotion shapes her identity. Molly Shannon gives an understated, deeply human performance about love and solitude.
But It's deliberately small and unglamorous. The pacing is slow and the emotional register is subdued throughout.
My Octopus Teacher2020
A South African filmmaker documents a year-long relationship with an octopus, discovering how connection with another creature can heal loneliness and reshape how you see the world. Visually stunning and genuinely moving.
But Some may find the documentary's meditative tone too precious, or feel the emotional arc relies too heavily on narration to land.
Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from Adele and Everything After
The wildcard
Something you would not have found on your own.
Hachi: A Dog's Tale2009
Both are stories about a human-animal bond that defines a solitary person's entire existence, and both grapple with the question of what happens when that bond is severed.
A narrative film about the real Hachiko, a dog whose loyalty to his deceased owner became legendary. It's structured around separation and devotion, but told as a drama rather than documentation.
But It's deliberately sentimental in a way that can feel manipulative, especially in how it cues the emotional climax. Much less restrained than a documentary approach.
More like this (8)
Won't You Be My Neighbor?2018
A portrait of Mr. Rogers and his lifelong mission to reach isolated, lonely people through television. Explores what it means to offer genuine care and connection to those who need it most.
But It's reverential in tone and doesn't interrogate its subject critically. If you're allergic to sincerity, this will feel cloying.
Crip Camp: A Disability Revolution2020
A documentary about disabled people finding community, autonomy, and belonging. Joyful and political, it captures the liberation that comes from not being alone in your experience.
But The scope is broader and more activist in orientation than a personal portrait, which shifts the emotional register significantly.
Glen Campbell: I'll Be Me2014
A documentary following Glen Campbell on tour while he battles Alzheimer's, exploring how connection and music persist even as memory fades. Intimate without being exploitative.
But It's a film about cognitive decline and loss, which means it accumulates sadness rather than offering comfort or resolution.
A Prophet2009
A French prison drama about a young man's transformation through an unexpected bond with a fellow inmate. Explores how connection survives in the most isolating circumstances.
But It's a narrative fiction set in brutal circumstances. The beauty emerges from violence and exploitation, which isn't for everyone.
Bao2018
A Pixar short about a Chinese mother and a sentient dumpling she raises as her child. Wordless, visually exquisite, about the terror and necessity of letting go of what you love.
But It's deliberately oblique and open to interpretation. Some viewers find it unsatisfying rather than poignant.
The Waiting Room2012
A documentary filmed in an Oakland hospital ER waiting room, capturing the humanity of people at their most vulnerable. About isolation within proximity and the kindness strangers show each other.
But It's unglamorous and deliberately unstructured. There's no narrative arc or central character, which can feel scattered.
Proof2005
Like Adele and Everything After, it's about a woman whose circumstances have forced her into profound isolation, and how one relationship—or the lack of one—can reshape her entire sense of self and possibility.
A chamber drama about a woman with a history of mental illness whose father has died, and her struggle to prove her own competence and worth to those around her. Utterly focused on isolation and connection within family.
But It's claustrophobic, intellectually rigorous, and emotionally punishing. The film doesn't offer easy answers about who to trust, including yourself.
The Witness2015
Same filmmaker exploring similar territory—the interior life of an isolated woman—but through a radically different visual language.
An experimental documentary by the filmmaker who made Adele and Everything After, following a woman's life through archival footage, animation, and observation. Lyrical and formally inventive about loneliness and time.
But It's a formal experiment that prioritizes mood and image over narrative clarity. If you want a traditional documentary arc, this resists it.
People
Cast
- MartyHerself
- Darlene SullivanHerself
- James JanuzziHimself
- Jeff HarrisHimself
- Megan EsherickHerself
- Claudine QuadratAdult Marty
- Morgan MillerYoung Marty
- Ozlyn Parres-GoldYoung Lisa
Directing
- Melissa DowlerDirector
Production
- Madison SteigerwaldAssociate Producer
- Melissa DowlerProducer
- Tom DowlerProducer