A Good Person is a drama of heartbreak, grief, existential angst and redemption, portraying with gritty realism the nature of addiction and the havoc it can wreak. Source: Australian Catholics.
It is also a fine story that comes full circle as the better elements of human nature triumph over adversity and regret.
The film centres around Ally (Pugh) a happy, careless, recently engaged young woman whose momentary lapse causes her life to spin out of control. She is the driver and sole survivor of a car crash that kills her prospective sister-in-law and brother-in law, leaving their daughter, Ryan, orphaned.
A year later, Ally is living at home with her single mother, addicted to painkillers, no longer engaged, unemployed and in psychic pain. Her life is a wreck.
Ally decides to attend an AA meeting and there she comes face to face with Daniel Adams (Freeman), the father of her now former fiancé Nathan and Molly, who was killed in the crash. Aghast, Ally turns to leave, and in the bravest of actions Daniel reaches out to her and asks her to stay. These are the actions of the good person of the title.
Daniel invites Ally to dinner and after an initial explosion and a flurry of four-letter words (these are littered throughout the film and for this reviewer become rather jarring when they are allowed to become the aural wallpaper), Ally and Ryan begin to warm to each other. Healing of sorts slowly begins to emerge. But this is never an easy thing and the young women make mistakes along the way, even though their intentions are good.
The acting doesn’t seem like acting. It is raw and honest, unflinching at times. A Good Person reminds us that our lives can take unexpected turns, but things can work out with the right support, love, a big dose of intestinal fortitude and faith.
Reviewed by Ann Rennie, Jesuit Media.
A Good Person: Starring: Florence Pugh, Morgan Freeman, Celeste O’Connor, Chinaza Uche, Molly Shannon, Alex Wolff, Zoe Lister-Jones. Directed by Zach Braff. 129 minutes. Rated MA (Strong themes and drug use).
FULL REVIEW
A Good Person (Jesuit Media via Australian Catholics)
