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A Good Person: The Addiction of Grief

Courtesy MGM

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. 

Courtesy MGM

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. 

Courtesy MGM

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.

Courtesy MGM

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.

Courtesy MGM

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.

Courtesy MGM

Pugh’s raw and honest performance elevates it to something worth watching. She keeps A Good Person grounded, even when it stray into melodrama.

Courtesy MGM

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

Zach Braff

Written by

Zach Braff

Produced by

Starring

Cinematography

Mauro Fiore

Edited by

Dan Schalk

Music by

Bryce Dessner

Production
companies

Distributed by

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer

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


Courtesy MGM


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