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Join UsStar Cast: Dan Levy, Ruth Negga, Himesh Patel, and Luke Evans
Director: Dan Levy
What’s Good: The film’s emotional beats feel pretty genuine, and that feels unique even when the setup and execution are a bit artificial
What’s Bad: Many lines of dialogue are too on the nose, and some characters sometimes act weird, confusing their motivations.
Loo Break: Yes, there are a couple of loo breaks, as some conversations or situations might not be interesting enough to hold everyone’s attention on the film.
Watch or Not?: This is a must-watch film if you are in the mood for something quite melancholic.
Language: English (with subtitles).
Available On: Netflix
Runtime: 100 Minutes.
User Rating:
Passion projects come in very different forms. Sometimes, they can be big epics full of details, and sometimes, they can also be the complete opposite by being very small and intimate; in the case of Good Grief, we are dealing with the second example, which makes this Dan Levy passion project a film that speaks honestly about specific topics, but also stumbles a bit when it comes to the execution of its storytelling and how to present its ideas and feelings.
Good Grief Movie Review: Script Analysis
Dan Levy has had an exciting career. He made himself a household name with his role in the fantastic Schitt’s Creek, then became a TV show host while also being an actor and filmmaker. Levy can do anything, although it would be naive to say that we expected more from him after he ran in Schitt’s Creek, as he has a ton of talent, but the industry doesn’t know where to put it to use.
The result is that Dan Levy’s star has fallen a bit from its highest point in the sky, but he is still working and might get a breakthrough very soon. Making movies is quite complex, so when seeing Good Grief, it is clear that this is a very personal film and a passion project for Levy, which is excellent. To hear and see these personal stories feels like something that doesn’t come out a lot in Western cinema, and seeing a figure like Levy move into that position makes it feel more solid than it is.
However, while Good Grief has some excellent performances and an apparent pathos, the film struggles a bit in terms of execution, and it seems rather clunky in some aspects, especially during that first act, where the movie needs to set up characters and the overall situation. There, the dialogue and the situation feel too artificial, exposing the film to what it is: an invention instead of dragging us to these characters’ world and making it feel real.
Nevertheless, as the movie progresses, these stumbles become less of a problem as the movie tackles its subject more directly, and the situations become more and more organic. The film’s third act is the best because, at that point, the characters and the situation feel way more accurate. That could be the point, the unraveling of reality, yet the first act feels too stagy for my taste. Remarkably, the film ends up making a great landing.
Good Grief Movie Review: Star Performance
Levy directs, writes, and stars in the movie, and while he tries his best, and the latter sections of his performance feel quite genuine, his performance is a bit inconsistent; sometimes, it totally feels like he is acting and then like he is actually the character feeling what he feels, thankfully, Levy surrounds himself with a great duo of actors that lead the movie just as much as he does. The film feels more complete with Ruth Negga and Hamish Patel on screen.
Negga’s and Patel’s characters are highlighted even when, at times, their motivations feel pretty confusing. It is clear that the movie wants to develop them, but it doesn’t have the time to work it does with its main characters, and yet, both actors manage to overcome this, and they get their characters to endings that feel pretty satisfying, maybe not realistic, but satisfying enough to bring the movie to an amicable conclusion among all the melancholy.
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Good Grief Movie Review: Direction, Music
This is Levy’s first feature film, and it shows; this is not to say that the movie is poorly made; it is the opposite, but it doesn’t feel very cinematic. The setups are solid enough, but it feels like watching an episode from a streaming series rather than an actual film. Thankfully, Levy has an ace under his sleeve: the city of Paris, which serves as the film’s setting for an extended section. The city looks gorgeous on screen; enough cool places are shown to keep things dynamic.
The music by Rob Simonsen does its job, but it only stands out as something you would listen to outside the context of the film. In fact, the score is almost invisible, but it is there to bring the scenes up and down as needed. Meanwhile, the cinematography by Ole Bratt Birkeland does a lot to carry the film in many sections, even when the camera work feels more in line with something like standard TV fare.
Good Grief Movie Review: The Last Word
Good Grief is an excellent first feature coming from Dan Levy, and we can expect the filmmaker to polish his style a lot more in upcoming projects because even when the storytelling is a bit clunky in this one, the film still has something to say, and what it has to say is meaningful and universal, and those messages should be in movies more often than not. Good Grief might not be a must-watch, but this is a good watch if you are in the mood for something sad.
Good Grief Trailer
Good Grief releases on January 05, 2024.
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