A Good Person – Review
129 Minutes, Rated R
Written and Directed by Zach Braff
**NOTE: this post will be updated with audio once we actually have the chance to talk about it. Until then, you can read Mark’s review below. Remember, though, you can listen to all our discussions of this and every other movie directly over on ACAST. Stay tuned.**
Synopsis:
Daniel is brought together with Allison, the once thriving young woman with a bright future who was involved in an unimaginable tragedy that took his daughter’s life. As grief-stricken Daniel navigates raising his teenage granddaughter and Allison seeks redemption, they discover that friendship, forgiveness, and hope can flourish in unlikely places.
As the late, great, Jackie Gleeson might have said: “oof!”
This is a tough watch. A good watch, don’t get me wrong, but a tough one.
I’m not a Zach Braff afficianado, so I can’t speak to his previous writing or directoral style, but this one…
Man.
First off, let me just say that Florence Pugh is fan-freaking-tastic as Allison, a woman who seemingly has everything until a fateful event, and then we see her without it.
Over the course of the film, we learn the exact series of events that lead us to NOW. We see Trauma, grief, addiction, fear, hate… all of it.
[Author’s note: if you or anyone you know struggles with mental or substance disorders, please get help at SAMHSA’s National Helpline | SAMHSA.]
Morgan Freeman turns in one of his finest performances in years up against Pugh, with Celeste O’Connor providing ample support as his teenage grand-daughter and Molly Shannon turning in both a characteristically Molly Shannon performance while also giving us a look into Allison’s background and mindset as her mother.
Watching real people slog through real problems makes for compelling cinema, but can often slide over into melodrama. With A Good Person, Zach Braff manages to avoid that trap, instead allowing his actors to take their unquestionably damaged characters and wring the pain from them like water from a soaked rag and onto the screen.
Great stuff.
Hard stuff, but great stuff.
If you want some truly quality drama instead of hard-boiled or popcorn action, check this one out.
A Good Person hits theaters March 24 and stars Florence Pugh, Morgan Freeman, Celeste O’Connor, Molly Shannon, Zoe Lister-Jones, and Chinaza Uche.
And remember, if the BEST thing you can say about a movie is that it’s “visually stunning,” then they’ve done something wrong.
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