Good Grief (2023)
SHOULD I SEE IT?
YES
Daniel Levy’s return to screens will please many fans of his Emmy Award-winning work as writer, actor, director, and creator of “Schitt’s Creek.”
A somber, but thoughtful romantic dramedy with Levy, Himesh Patel, and Ruth Negga giving strong, emotionally resonant performances.
Looks beautiful - the movie soaks in gorgeous backdrops and sets as the main characters spend a majority of their time in London and Paris.
NO
Wears its heart firmly on its sleeve. As a result, the film is prone to melodramatic flourishes which may aggravate some viewers.
Levy’s reliance on lots of musical cues can prove a bit distracting, as can the long looks at gorgeous European sets and night-time views. At times, the reality of life for these characters contrasts with the self-reflection happening on screen.
With emotions on full display, some viewers may find these characters wrestling with their own sadness, completely unlikable and insufferable.
OUR REVIEW
Earnest and wearing its heart squarely on its sleeve, Good Grief sees the return of Emmy Award-winner Daniel Levy as writer, director, producer, and star of a new romantic dramedy. Far different than what many are accustomed to with his work on “Schitt’s Creek,” Levy veers into more emotional territory with his feature-film directorial debut.
Sneaking into select theaters the last week of 2023 before debuting on Netflix in the first week of 2024, Good Grief first begins at Christmas time in London. A lavish dinner party is happening where Marc (Levy) and his husband Oliver (Luke Evans) are entertaining friends, colleagues, and special guests at an annual holiday party. Oliver, a famous author, must leave on Christmas night to return to Paris for work and moments after he departs, Marc and other guests hear sirens. When Marc rushes outside, he finds Oliver has been killed in a car accident not far from home.
Devastated, Marc is left to pick up the pieces - drawing support from best friends Thomas (Himesh Patel) and Sophie (Ruth Negga). As the film jumps ahead one year, Marc is still grieving, still trying to put his affairs in order and watching Thomas and Sophie battle their own bouts of depression and dysfunction in their own lives.
If this sounds like a burden of a film to endure, it’s not, or at least wasn’t for me. Levy is too skilled a writer to make this so morose that it becomes unwatchable. He fleshes out the main characters, writing in enough backstory to keep them interesting, as a plot twist finds Marc rethinking everything he thought he knew about his husband.
In recognizing a year of grieving, Marc decides to treat Thomas and Sophie to a trip to Paris. At this point, Good Grief becomes a film which pivots to an emotional exploration for Marc trying to understand if everything he gave up for the good of his marriage left him a lesser person than when his spouse was alive.
That this exploration comes with lots of musical cues and gorgeous views of Parisian nightlife may seem somewhat disingenuous. And I readily acknowledge, Good Grief could easily be dismissed as whiny or showy, with characters discussing, debating, and contemplating their emotional state. A few scenes are framed in such a way where you wonder if Levy just thought it would be really cool to have two characters hug in the Louvre, or some other opulent setting. Also apparent - Levy can cry at a moment’s notice.
While those music cues sometimes overwhelm the story, Levy, Patel, and Negga especially, deliver really strong performances. Negga’s Sophie is outlandish, spiraling even, by the time the trio arrive in Paris. However, the Oscar nominated actor is such an gifted performer, she knows how to not dominate the film. The best scene in the film comes when she sits at a table of four and gives heartfelt apologies to each person there. You feel Negga almost leading her fellow actors through the scene, as they hang on her every word. Her command, restraint and control in these moments is genuine and beautiful to witness play out on screen.
For someone who wants Levy to spit insults and jagged barbs like we are used to, there are a few to be had here. Selfishly, I wanted more of them. But one recognizes that Good Grief finds Levy pushing himself as a creative into a different space than he’s explored before. Instead of a comedic actor who can be serious when he needs to be, this is an attempt to shift the other way. He gets better as the movie goes along (the script all but forces him to based on second and third act reveals for his character), and I couldn’t help but grow to appreciate what Levy is attempting to do here.
Suffering from what a friend and fellow critic calls “First Film-itis,” Levy may have a few scenes which meander and he may be guilty of falling into familiar habits and tropes. He should also be commended though for writing and delivering some powerful moments. A scene with Marc talking with his financial advisor (Celia Imrie) late in the film snuck up on me, as did the aforementioned scene led by Negga. And there are other moments too, a reminder that Levy is really good at what he does.
Even if we cannot grieve in Paris and possess the resources and wealth to simply do whatever we want in life, Good Grief strikes a nerve. Levy may still be finding his way as a director, but his underrated acting abilities and wonderful instincts as a writer makes this a film worth finding and experiencing.
CAST & CREW
Starring: Daniel Levy, Himesh Patel, Ruth Negga, Luke Evans, Jamael Westman, Celia Imrie, Arnaud Valois, David Bradley, Mehdi Baki, Emma Corrin, Kaitlyn Dever, Yoli Fuller
Director: Daniel Levy
Written by: Daniel Levy
Release Date: December 29, 2023
Netflix