Bleeding Love

Ewan McGregor pairs with real-life daughter Clara in a tender story about a father and his kid trying to repair the bonds frayed by their shared addiction journey.

Some people think it’s just a gimmick when a movie star pairs with their real-life child onscreen, but it’s produced some truly indelible performances, from Ryan and Tatum O’Neal in “Paper Moon” to Henry and Jane Fonda in “On Golden Pond.”

Ewan McGregor and his daughter, Clara, are the latest to raw from real-life relationships to color what we see in the cinema. Clara co-wrote the story with Vera Bulder and Ruby Caster, who gets the screenplay credit, with Emma Westenberg in the director’s chair.

It’s a very simple and spare road picture as a father and daughter are driving across the desert from San Diego to Santa Fe. They have long been estranged as he walked out on the family years ago because of his struggle with addiction. Now 20, she has inherited his predilection for substance use disorder, having overdosed in the hospital the night before.

Needless to say, there’s an ocean of distance between them despite sharing the front seat of his 1970s squarebody GMC truck. He’s now gotten his life together, owns a landscaping business, remarried and has a young son. She bears much resentment for him, despite showing up for her when she nearly died, and even tries to run out on him during a roadside pee stop.

(She’s laughing while doing so, and we get the sense this episode was more to needle him than a true escape attempt — especially given they’re in the middle of parched nowhere.)

Interestingly, I did not even notice until after watching the movie that we never learn the characters’ names — they are listed simply as “Father” and “Daughter” in the credits. Though we at least get a name, Highland, from the business logo on his truck — possibly his surname and/or a nod to his Scottish brogue — and his nickname for her, Turbo, which she dismisses as a childish moniker.

The film frequently slips back to hazy recollections of their time together when she was a little girl (Devyn McDowell) and enjoyed happy times. There was the baseball game where she caught a ball, which he rejoices with great clarity but she claims not to remember. We also get glimpses of his not-so-stellar moments a parent and husband.

Of course they will have various run-ins and encounters with other people along the way. There’s a mechanical breakdown, leading to a ride with an incredibly inappropriate tow truck driver and a stopover at her family’s place, where a birthday is taking place. The daughter initiates a flirtation with young relation (Jake Weary) as a way to score booze.

Vera Bulder makes a big impression as a very self-aware prostitute they run into, who provides some assistance of a delicate nature. She steals the pumpkin they had acquired and informs them she is hooking so she can move to New York City and write plays, and we actually think she might make it.

I wanted to follow this intriguing character off into her own movie. Bulder’s short but lasting screen time reminds me of Brad Pitt’s star-making turn in “Thelma & Louise.”

The father has told the daughter they are driving to a friend’s house who also battled addiction to get some rest and relief, though the real destination is something else easily guessed at. His falling backward into the addict’s tools of manipulation and deception doesn’t bode well for their chances to reunite.

The McGregors make for a heartfelt screen pair, even though they don’t much resemble each other. Clara has untamed hair and wild, coltish features that accentuate the daughter’s rebellious, fiercely independent ways. Ewan, who we still think of as the callow druggie in “Trainspotting,” is creasing up nicely as he eases into mature roles.

“Bleeding Love” takes its name from the 2007 song by Leona Lewis that gets featured in a pleasing duet. The film authentically tackles the reality of addiction and how it is often passed down through families that are left fractured by it. It’s a little low-budget picture with big heart.

“Bleeding Love” will get a limited theatrical run starting Feb. 16 and is also available for rental on most streaming platforms the same date.