‘Miss You, Love You,’ the drama film which takes place in the lead-up to a funeral, is set in an idyllic neighborhood in New Mexico. Diane, the grieving widow, moved to the city, leaving behind a life in New York, after her husband, Henry, was terminally diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease. Although she loved her husband dearly, she never learned to quite love her new hometown, or its various quirks. One such quirk includes the next-door neighbor, Judith Bibbs. Jamie, who arrives at Diane’s house in the absence of her son and his boss, Tyler, meets Judith upon his arrival in the city. As it turns out, she’s searching the neighborhood for her chihuahua named Chipper, who has recently gone missing. Even more surprisingly, Diane seems to know something about the disappearance that she isn’t quite yet ready to share with the pet owner. SPOILERS AHEAD!
Chipper Meets a Similar Fate as Barnaby the Cat
The disappearance of the pet animals in Diane’s neighborhood in New Mexico isn’t an unusual occurrence. In fact, it has already happened to the grieving widow herself. A while back, when Henry was still alive, their pet cat, Barnaby, was carried away from their yard by an owl. Afterward, the fate of the feline seemed sealed, but Henry, in his endless optimism, still tried to hold on to hope that the cat might return one day. Unfortunately, something similar happens to Chipper, the Chihuahua. Days before Judith began looking for her dog, Diane saw him being carried off by a hawk. Since the owner herself never saw this instance unravel, she believes that her dog must have run away or gotten lost.
Nonetheless, Diane knows that Chipper, much like her own Barnaby, is likely dead after having fallen prey to a predator bird. Even so, she doesn’t tell Judith about the tragedy right away. It is evident that the widow isn’t the biggest fan of her neighbor. Still, she recognizes that the idea that Chipper might still be alive and somewhere out there is a beacon of hope for her. For the same reason, she spares the other woman the bad news to allow her to have hope for longer. Afterward, she momentarily tries to use this same hope to crush her, following a disagreement about the song choices for Henry’s funeral service at the local church. Fortunately, Jamie manages to stop her from doing something she will regret. Thus, by the end of the movie, Judith remains oblivious about the tragedy that has befallen Chipper, allowing him to continue believing that the Chihuahua might still be alive and well elsewhere.
Read More: Where Was Miss You, Love You Filmed? All Shooting Locations
