A Good Person
review by Bobby Blakey
Zach Braff has already established himself as a good director with films like Garden State and Going in Style as well as numerous TV series. Now he is back in the director’s seat for his latest film A Good Person that he also wrote starring Florence Pugh, Molly Shannon, Chinaza Uche, Celeste O’Connor, and Morgan Freeman. Could this film being addictive enough to engage the audience or will it need more recovery?
A Good Person follows Daniel who is brought together with Allison, the once thriving young woman with a bright future who was involved in an unimaginable tragedy that took his daughter’s life. As grief-stricken Daniel navigates raising his teenage granddaughter and Allison seeks redemption, they discover that friendship, forgiveness, and hope can flourish in unlikely places.
I have loved Florence Pugh since seeing her in Fighting With My Family and been keeping up with all her work since. I was all in to see this one already, but add Freeman to the mix and I hoped for something special, but wasn’t really sure how this was going to play out. I can tell you that this is an excellent movie and way heavier than I had expected. It’s a powerful story that deals with love, loss, addiction, forgiveness and every painful thing in between.
I thought this was going to just be about Pugh’s journey, but to my surprise it is really focusing on both her and Freeman who are on parallel journies that crash right into each other. Pugh is at the top of her game here bringing the light and beauty of her life to the forefront as well as the heft of depression and addiction that feels almost like two separate people. It is heartbreaking at times
to watch as you root for her to find her way and are constantly slammed with more setbacks.
Freeman is as great as always bringing a gruff and hardened man just trying to make a mends and be better, but is lost in his own path and struggling with the things thrust into him. He is the anchor to the story that could have easily been only that, but there is so much depth to what he is dealing with and really brings some of the best light hearted moments to the often heavy film.
These two have great chemistry as their dysfunctional worlds collide and bring some truly powerful performances. There are quite a few powerful, heartfelt and heartbreaking moments between them that elevates this pic to a whole other level. While there are some laughs, this film is dealing with real life that might trigger some people that relate and it is so good.
Grab your copy of A Good Person when it hits Blu-ray on May 30th from Warner Bros Home Entertainment.