A Good Person

'A Good Person' tackles challenging themes of grief, addiction, and family struggles as Allison's entire life is uprooted from a tragic accident.

The highlight of the film is definitely the acting from the two lead characters. Pugh delivers a standout performance and manages to perfectly express the pent-up emotional state of Allison as she tries to rebuild her life. Freeman also does a great job at depicting a torn character who is wrestling with an internal struggle of blame. The camera work and soundtrack enhance the performances, so together, they elevate the films emotional impact, and it hits hard.

It's a shame to see critic reviews bash on the film. I agree it wasn't a perfect film. Yes, it runs a tad long. Yes, the story isn't anything new. And yes, there are a few plot points that feel out of place and a bit preachy.

But ultimately, for me, these issues were overshadowed by the raw emotion the movie evokes. It expertly weaves together complex characters that don't fall into simple "good" and "bad" buckets. The story is simple but relatable. Almost anyone, from all walks of life, can find a moment that they've been in or struggled with. And even through all that, the script manages to stay poignant, yet weave in moments of charm and comedy.

"A Good Person", at the surface, is a nothing film. An indie drama with little-to-no buzz, all-too familiar subject matter, and no action or CGI.

I remember when I saw David Schwimmer's film, "Trust". I didn't know much about the subject of internet/sexual predators(especially the depth of its' impact on families), but it became very obvious to me that the filmmaker DID! It wasn't until after I finished the film, that I found-out that Schwimmer had a lot of experience/knowledge of the subject matter, and that is what elevated the drama/realism to a level you don't often see in film. This film does the same thing.

The first hour of "A Good Person" is about the best hour of any drama that I have ever seen. That's a bold statement from a guy that's seen about 4500 films, but I'm sticking to-it. I have been affected by both addiction and major car accidents, so in this case, I know the subject matter quite well. Perhaps that skews my opinions about the film, but it also qualifies me in some way to critic the writing, acting, and subject matter(realism); under a more powerful(and watchful) lense.

Zach Braff's writing and Florence Pugh and Morgan Freemans' acting make this, undoubtedly, one of the years best.

An hour-in, I had to stop the film after a couple different scenes, at that point, I was befuddled and truly shell-shocked by the effectiveness and realism of the first 2 acts. Scene after scene it was just so well done. I went from going-into the film quite blind, to realizing I was watching something VERY special. I felt like Indiana Jones in THe Last Crusade, "You have chosen, wisely". I also realized, that if the last act was as good as the first 2, that I would undoubtedly be rating the film as the 48th 10/10 that I have awarded. At the halfway point, definitely a 10 out of 10! Each scene in the films' first hour is realistic, completely engrossing and impeccably written.

I knew Braff had an impossible task. To finish the film on as high of a note as the films' first hour, would be difficult for any director. Its not that the final act is that bad, it's that the first two are just simply that good.. The only problem is that the film gets so many subplots involved, that it stood no chance of timely and adequately resolving each of them. Therefore the final act is slightly convoluted, rushed, and overdone. IF the final act were as strong as the films' first hour, literally removing one-less than perfect 5-min scene, I would have nudged-it onto the exceptional shelf with my favorite dramas of the last 2 decades; films like Whiplash, There Will Be Blood, The Descendants, and Short Term 12. As it sits(or finished), it will rank at or near the final film, "Short Term 12", in overall quality(9/10), and most akin to that comparison in genre and scope. Zero doubt that this film will hold a top-5 spot for 2023, and it currently sits at #1.

This is one of the best films I've ever seen in terms of tackling multiple dramatic subplots like addiction, grief, rehabilitation, friendship/support and hope; and by simply doing-it so well. It literally has the potential to save real peoples lives, and i don't think too many films can say that. It understands the subject matter. It realistically portrays serious family dynamics(maybe minus one scene), but is mostly, uncomfortably, realistic and dynamic.... Zach Braff moved way up the drama-director to watch list, if there is one. The writing of the entire film, the extremely well-fashioned scenes of the films' first hour(in particular), and those incredible performances, are what truly sets this film apart. It's a little more restraint in one particular scene away from 10/10 for this reviewer.

Leave it to funnyman Zach Braff to play a subtle joke on all of us: casually and quietly dropping a superbly-written, powerfully-acted emotional gut-punch of a film the same day that we also get the gleeful carnage-fest that is John Wick 4. What a good weekend for movies this is turning out to be.

A Good Person tells a story of addiction recovery that has certainly been done many times before, but rarely do we ever see it done with this much tact, wit, and genuine power.

Florence Pugh and Morgan Freeman both arguably give some of their finest performances here, with Pugh bleeding raw grief and Freeman sporting visible scars of grief so convincingly. Their friendly chemistry is tangible and compulsively watchable. If they were all this movie had to rely on, they would carry it easily.

Thankfully, though, the film also has the finest screenplay I've seen this year. The dialogue has an engaging charm to it but never loses its authenticity, carrying character development for EVERY character effortlessly and subtly through natural conversation.

When writing a comedy about a topic as bleak as this, it's very difficult to balance tones, but Braff makes it look easy. His film switches quickly between heart-wrenching and gut-bustingly funny many times within a scene, and often blends these tones together while never once coming across as insensitive or mean-spirited.

Braff clearly cares about his characters, and wants us to find the humor in their situations because he loves them and wants them to be happy.

My only complaint, if it even is a complaint, is that I found the ending to be a little too...nice, easy, and clean. A little bow gets wrapped on top of the ending of an emotional rollercoaster of a story and it seemed like the only contrived part of an otherwise beautifully authentic tale of recovery through genuine purpose.

I found myself falling in and out of love with this film. At times it is very punchy and powerful and full of gut wrenching emotion. But too often these moments surrender to more formulaic story beats and slightly cliche and over the top drama. The result is a strong film, but I can't help but think an opportunity was missed.

Narratively I think there are a few missteps that detract from the emotion of the whole piece. It gets bogged down in the Morgan Freeman angle of the story which takes the focus away from the more compelling Florence Pugh angle. This makes the whole thing a little bloated, which weakens some of its emotional punches. It is a strong story and still very emotional nonetheless, but it fails to fully get into some of the interesting issues it raises.

The story may not blow you away, but the lead performance definitely will. I might as well just prepare some boiler plate text for any reviews I write for a Florence Pugh film as she is always brilliant. In every film I see her in every second she is off screen seems like a second wasted. There are so many moments in this film where you feel like it is just you and her as she connects you to the character and the story in such a masterful way. Well worth seeing this film for her alone.

Despite not quite living up to my expectation, A Good Person is a solidly good film. Pugh shines in a powerfully written role, but the whole piece could have done with a little more refinement.

To start, I LOVE Florence Pugh. She had me at Midsommer and I've been a huge fan since. She definitely was the amazing talent in this movie. I chose my title because, as many of you probably do, you scroll through the other posts and then come up with your own take and THIS MOVIE - is one that is much better if your life has been somewhere close to where Allie's (Pugh) life took her. This is a story of grief, guilt, love, hate - it really runs the gamut. Admittedly, the story doesn't bring anything new to the table but I don't think it has to. I believe that when you can see yourself through Allie's story - it's pretty gripping. How did Allison Janney say it in 'The Help' - 'love and hate are two ends of the same horse'? I guess you're going to love this movie or hate it. As a woman of 50+ years that has had my own rocky road, I'm blown away at how well FP acts out the character of Allie. She's so young and it usually takes real life trauma to unearth those acting chops.

I vote you watch this. Zach Braff (director) punched out a great story.