More often than not, I enjoy movies, television shows, books, and music dealing with addiction. When a show, a song, an autobiography, etc., effectively chronicles the compulsive and desperate realities of substance abuse, I will give it my undivided attention. When a character adeptly captures the euphoria of being drunk, high, or stoned, followed by the bleak and inpatient hopelessness that awaits when that high wears off, I am reminded of how prevalent, powerful, and relentless addiction is. Two critically limited series (Dopesick – 2022 and Painkiller – 2023) brought pharmaceutical pill addiction to the forefront in ways that film or television hadn’t before. The ability to tell an addiction story over 8-10 one-hour-long episodes allows a director more opportunity to delve into the depths of the disease while allowing for deep character examinations. That is not to say that a film that centers around addiction can’t be captivating. Numerous examples have shown this. Unfortunately, Zach Braff’s (Garden State, Wish I Was Here) well-intentioned A Good Person was not one of them.
In fairness, this film is one that audiences will like more than the critics, as evidenced by its Rotten Tomatoes scores (58% critics, 96% audiences). Braff takes its viewers on a rollercoaster of a ride through the highs and lows of prescription pill addiction, as well as its ugly alternatives when that substance becomes unattainable. Part of its allure is its lead actor, the dynamic Florence Pugh (The Wonder Don’t Worry Darling). Pugh has quickly become a fan favorite since bursting onto the scene in 2019 with back-to-back-to-back hits of Fighting With My Family, Midsommar, and Little Women. In A Good Person, we first meet Allison (Pugh) and her fiance Nathan (Chinaza Uche – Nigerian Prince, How to Rob), who enjoy a blissful life, cherishing their time together as they prepare for their wedding. As a young, beautiful, hardworking, talented musician adored by all, Allison is living her best life.
Everything changes when she is involved in a car accident, in which she is the driver, that kills Molly (Allison’s future sister-in-law) and her husband. She learns about the deaths when she is in the ICU following her surgeries that resulted from the car crash. The film then advances one year. Allison and Nathan have broken up. Allison lives at home with her well-meaning but messy and incompatible mother, Diane (Molly Shannon – Promising Young Woman, Other People). Diane wants to fix Allison’s problems but doesn’t know how. In doing so and not allowing Allison her space, she makes the situation worse. Though it has been a year, Allison is still suffering immensely. Most notably, she has developed a nasty dependency on pharmaceutical painkillers. The addiction has consumed her wholly.
Allison’s addiction to painkillers takes a turn for the worse when her doctor deems her physical pain to no longer require the medication. Despite her pleas that she is in pain and needs to continue with the medication, he cuts her off. Allison’s addiction is so deep that she’s led to do several things to get her pills, including attempting to get her medication refilled at her local pharmacy despite having no refills and no new prescription, as well as arranging a lunch at an upscale restaurant with a former work colleague under a pretense of wanting to reconnect, when she what she really wanted was to see if she could get her hands on some pills, as she was a sales representative at Purdue Pharmaceutical. When she doesn’t get the answers she wants, Allison threatens to blackmail her. In doing so, Allison shows us the depths that she’ll go to feed her addiction.
Daniel (Morgan Freeman – The Shawshank Redemption, Million Dollar Baby) is Nathan and Molly’s father. A recovering alcoholic himself, Daniel has been estranged from Nathan for many years. He becomes the single caregiver for Molly’s 16-year-old daughter, Ryan (Celeste O’Connor – Ghostbusters: Afterlife, Freaky). Daniel and Ryan don’t mesh. Her attitudes, tendencies, and behaviors contradict his old-school mentality. When he discovers she is having sex with a boy a couple of years older, he doesn’t hold back in threatening a statutory rape charge or beating him to a pulp. The only commonality that Daniel and Ryan seem to have is the grief over losing Molly and the anger toward the person responsible.
Allison and Daniel connect at a narcotics/alcoholics anonymous meeting that neither knew they would be at. Daniel has a lot of harbored anger toward Allison that he’s never had a chance to get out. He holds her wholly accountable for the death of Molly and her husband. However, as much hostility as he holds toward her, Daniel quickly sees much of himself in Allison. She’s someone who paid the ultimate price for a split-second decision that ended in tragedy. The pair sees that they have far more in common than differences. A connection with Ryan and a reconnection with Nathan are bound to happen. Braff takes us through various familiar acting tropes, none overly memorable. While the young O’Connor may prove to have a career in acting, A Good Person will be one she may want to keep off her resume. Her performance was cringe-worthy, though I don’t blame it entirely on her. Braff’s gave her some rather ridiculous dialogue in his hit-or-miss script.
The flaws in the film were significant enough to derail my experience. We knew where we were heading the moment Daniel and Allison arrived at the same recovery meeting. From that point forward, Braff took us through the familiar arcs of reconciliation and redemption. Pugh and Freeman were great, especially together. At first, I didn’t love the casting of Freeman. He proved to be the correct choice. He played his most vulnerable character in decades. After her 2019 breakout, Pugh can no longer be thought of as the next big thing in movies. She’s arrived. A Good Person will be forgotten by most within days of its viewing. The most memorable part of the film will be Pugh.
What I appreciated the most about this film was its portrayal of how addiction can hold a person hostage and be the thing that they turn to the most when triggered or when times become difficult. Allison’s story was not one of reclamation after hitting rock bottom. Braff was excellent with Allison’s character and what he wanted to say about someone battling the disease. Each time we thought Allison was making strides, she was either dealt some news that she wasn’t prepared for or the emotional pain of how she was feeling as a whole became too much. With newly discovered avenues to get high, that’s what she did. Braff was telling us that no matter how well a person might be doing with their recovery or how strong they might seem, they are just as fragile (if not more so) than the rest of us. Braff and Pugh also excelled with Allison’s subtleties. There were scenes in which she was using, but the other characters (and the audience were unaware). Braff was showing us that being high doesn’t always result in over-the-top theatrics. Being under the influence can often be so subtle that not even the people to whom that person is closest can tell. With this particular aspect of the story, this was a grand achievement.
A Good Person is a well-intentioned movie that does many things correctly. While the situations felt real, it still felt, more often than not, that we were watching actors rather than characters. Braff had many well-shot scenes, but it too often felt like they were one-act plays designed to make us feel a certain way (a punch in the gut, a glimmer of hope, etc.) before cutting us off and moving us toward the next scene, regardless of the transition made sense or not. From a critic’s lens, there were numerous plot and character problems. However, from a storytelling perspective, it is very engaging. It makes sense that the critic and audience scores were far apart.
Plot 8/10
Character Development 8/10
Character Chemistry 7/10
Acting 7/10
Screenplay 7.5/10
Directing 7/10
Cinematography 7.5/10
Sound 8/10
Hook and Reel 8.5/10
Universal Relevance 9/10
77.5%
C+
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