How do we forgive someone when we aren’t yet capable of forgiving ourselves? And how do we begin to heal when another person’s choices have shaped the trauma responses that continue to define our lives long after the original wounds were inflicted?
Drawing from his own family’s story, writer Van Billet crafts an intimate and emotionally complex screenplay that director Jay Silverman brings to the screen with compassion and honesty in Yale.
Mac (Caitlin McGee) has never recovered from the day her father, Yale (Kevin Dunn), abandoned her and her mother. A day made even more painful because it was also her birthday. Years later, Mac is a struggling horror writer who numbs herself with alcohol, unable to fully trust the people who care about her. Her son Ryan (Benjamin Mackey) and her literary agent Susan (Rachael Harris) have reached the limits of their patience after one too many destructive decisions.
When Ryan’s life depends on a kidney transplant, Mac is forced to confront the father she has spent a lifetime trying to forget, hoping he might be a compatible donor. What follows is an emotionally charged road trip as Mac and Yale reconnect, exposing the lasting consequences of a lifetime of fractured relationships.
Yale is not interested in offering easy answers or sentimental resolutions. This is a story about deeply flawed people navigating generational trauma, addiction, abandonment, and the difficult reality that forgiveness does not erase pain. The film thoughtfully explores how one person’s decisions can create trauma responses that echo for decades, shaping the way survivors view themselves, relationships, and the world around them. Even when someone acknowledges the harm they caused, the emotional scars remain.
There were moments when I found myself rooting wholeheartedly for the characters, such as when Mac chooses to seek out her father despite every instinct telling her not to. Other scenes were considerably more difficult to watch, especially as Mac’s alcoholism places her son at risk. Yet as more of her history is revealed, the film encourages empathy without excusing her behavior. It becomes easier to understand how years of abandonment, unresolved pain, and survival mechanisms have led her to this point. Trauma may explain a person’s actions, but it doesn’t absolve them of responsibility.
The performances ground every emotional beat. McGee delivers a raw and vulnerable portrayal of a woman trapped between resentment and hope, while Dunn brings surprising depth to Yale. Rather than seeking sympathy, Yale recognizes his failures, often using humor to deflect uncomfortable truths while slowly confronting the damage his choices have caused. Together, the cast creates characters who feel authentic in all their messy humanity.
The film’s pacing is uneven at times. I found myself checking my watch more than normal. I realized that some of this discomfort stemmed less from the runtime than from the emotional weight of what was unfolding. Yale forces its audience to sit with painful truths about addiction, abandonment, and the ripple effects our choices have on the people we love. Those moments are intentionally uncomfortable because the subject matter itself offers no easy escape.
Ultimately, Yale resists the temptation to become a tidy redemption story. Instead, it asks difficult questions about accountability, forgiveness, and whether reconciliation is possible after a lifetime of hurt. When the stakes are life and death, what are we willing to risk to save the people we love? Can healing ever truly begin if we cannot first face the pain we’ve carried for so long?
Director: Jay Silverman
Cast: Dominic Leeder, Rachael Harris, Kevin Dunn, Caitlin McGee
Selig Rating: 3 stars
World Premiere: Dances with Film June 18, 2026
Genre(s): Comedy, Drama
Trailer: Yale trailer
The Selig Rating Scale:
5 Stars – Excellent movie/show, well worth the time and price.
4 Stars – Good movie/show
3 Stars – OK movie/show
2 Stars – Well, there was nothing else…
1 Star – Total waste of time.