Plot via IMDB:
Follows Allison, whose life falls apart following her involvement in a fatal accident.
Florence Pugh is one of the most versatile actors working today. In A Good Person, since her character doesn’t have to function as a self-actualization figure for a male love interest, Pugh is able to explore her character and achieve a fuller emotional reality. Her Allison, is a grieving woman coping with both denial and the eventual truth that in some major way she is responsible for the car accident that killed her sister and brother-in-law to be.
Subconsciously she moves from physical to emotional pain and an addiction to OxyContin. She’s drowning in guilt and finds relief from it in both the relief of pain and euphoria the drug delivers. The film shows her downward and upward spiral away from the drug’s control.
Through AA meetings she meets Daniel (Morgan Freeman), a recovering alcoholic ten years sober, the father of the daughter that was killed and the son she was to marry. Subconsciously, Daniel blames Allison for the accident. Befriending Allison is in a minor way both a forgiveness and a test of his character. For him, it’s the major test to finally achieving sobriety. This addiction recovery/dependency-codependency loop becomes the heart of A Good Person plot.
The start is a bit heavy handed. It’s just a setup for the healing and redemption to come. Their big sobriety test, that occurs at a party is also a bit overwrought, even though it’s plot necessary. It’s a stumbling towards awareness that works though.
Zach Braff, who wrote and directed, and based it on his own experiences coping with assorted loved ones deaths in the last few years, does a good job showing the mechanics of addiction, grief and recovery.
Pugh’s raw and honest performance elevates it to something worth watching. She keeps A Good Person grounded, even when it stray into melodrama.
Had it been a solo journey, it would be uniquely devastating and uplifting . Sharing the pain, even with a fine pro performance, from Morgan Freeman just dilutes it potential power. The true drama exist in the not too often quiet moments with herself.
A Good Person gets a 3.5 out of 5 or a B+.
Credits:
Directed by
Written by
Zach Braff
Produced by
- Zach Braff
- Pamela Koffler
- Florence Pugh
- Christine Vachon
- Christina Piovesan
- Noah Segal
Starring
- Florence Pugh
- Morgan Freeman
- Celeste O’Connor
- Molly Shannon
- Chinaza Uche
- Zoe Lister-Jones
Cinematography
Edited by
Dan Schalk
Music by
Production
companies
Distributed by
Release dates
- March 8, 2023(The Ham Yard Hotel, London)
- March 24, 2023(United States)
Running time
129 minutes[1]
Country
United States[1]
Language
English
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