Dr. Audrey Evans was a trailblazer in the field of pediatric cancer and a hero to countless children and their families. In an era when women weren’t even allowed financial autonomy, Dr. Evans forced her male colleagues to reconsider their approach to the way pediatric cancer patients were treated. Her legacy lives on in the Ronald McDonald Houses she helped establish and in the 80% survival rate for children with neuroblastoma. And now, thanks to Audrey’s Children, her story gets the spotlight it has long deserved.
Set in 1969, Audrey’s Children charts the extraordinary efforts of Dr. Evans to take a more aggressive approach to treating cancer patients. Dr. C. Everett Koop (Clancy Brown), who would become Surgeon General, makes a controversial decision to hire her. Doing so, he puts a tiny crack in the glass ceiling, which Audrey takes a sledgehammer to as the first female Chief of Pediatric Oncology at the prestigious Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP). Of course, her appointment rankles the group of all-male department heads who mistakenly believe she’s out of her league. However, Audrey, impressively played by Game of Thrones’ Natalie Dormer, quickly proves she’s not one to be pushed around. She fearlessly advocates for new treatment methods for her young patients, whom she affectionately refers to as “her children.”
Audrey’s passionate about her children and their families, and she takes an unorthodox approach to obtaining funding for her research. All but two of her male peers (Jimmi Simpson as Dr. Dan D’Angio and Brandon Micheal Hall as Dr. Brian Faust—a fictional character—throw up roadblocks and refuse to treat her as an equal. But Audrey’s a warrior. She refuses to back down against bureaucracy, pervasive misogyny, or the rigid mindsets of doctors who are singularly focused on old-school methods and dismiss the suggestion of a more progressive approach to treatment.
Audrey’s Children’s screenwriter Julia Fisher Farbman was a close friend of the real Dr. Evans and had Audrey’s support while penning the script. Fisher Farbman also obtained the support of Ronald McDonald House Charities and CHOP, and the result is a film that captures Dr. Evans’ revolutionary discoveries in the fight against the deadliest of childhood cancers.
Natalie Dormer does a phenomenal job of capturing the remarkable, tenacious, and forward-thinking doctor who transformed patient care. Dormer captures Dr. Evans’ resolve and courage in speaking up at a time when women in her field were considered lesser than their male colleagues. Dormer displays the strength Dr. Evans needed to basically take on the medical establishment and also perfectly portrayed the warmth and compassion Audrey was well known for showing her children and their families.
Audrey’s Children is deeply inspirational, much like the remarkable woman whose story we see on screen. Director Ami Canaan Mann, screenwriter Julia Fisher Farbman, Natalie Dormer, and the supporting cast have skillfully brought Dr. Evans into the spotlight where her incredible life’s work truly belongs.
GRADE: A-
Release Date: March 28, 2025
Rating: PG
Running Time: 110 minutes
This post was last modified on August 18, 2025 4:16 pm