A Good Person

Official Australian release date: 20/4/23. Viewed: 25/4/23.
Director: Zach Braff
Actors: Florence Pugh, Morgan Freeman, Celste O’Connor, Chinaza Uche
Genre: Drama
Rating: MA

‘A Good Person’ is Zach Braff’s fourth film as director, and for mine, his best yet (yes, even better than ‘Garden State’). As much as I like him, his films might be better without him in them! This is a well-written and superbly-acted investigation of grief and love. Allison (Pugh) and Nathan (Uche) are engaged when tragedy strikes, leaving Allie addicted to painkillers. What follows is the story of how each cope with their grief.

The acting is exceptional across the board – Nathan’s Dad, Daniel (Freeman), niece Ryan (O’Connor), Allison’s Mum, Dianne (Shannon) and sponsor, Simone (Lister-Jones). All have significant roles in how they interact with Pugh, who puts on a masterclass, at times trying to be brave, others completely at a loss – and you feel it all with her. I think she’ll be around for a long, long time. Even her songs are good!

The score overall is solid, and New Jersey serves as a nice setting, with some New York thrown in, as is always the case. This is certainly not a typical romantic drama, or “sad film”, with plenty of moments of humour, as well as some subtle warnings about drug-use and using phones while driving. Pacing is good and it’s not too long. But it’s a story of love and forgiveness at it’s heart and does an exceptional job of making you care about Allison and Daniel in particular. Certainly not many dry eyes in the theatre at the end!

Overall: Excellent story of grief and humanity

Gav's Rating: 4 stars

 

Air

Official Australian release date: 5/4/23. Viewed: 7/4/23.
Director: Ben Affleck
Actors: Matt Damon, Jason Bateman, Viola Davis, Ben Affleck
Genre: Drama
Rating: M

‘Air’ (as in “Air Jordan” shoes) is Ben Affleck’s 5^th time directing, and while not as good as ‘Gone Baby Gone’, it’s slightly better than ‘The Town’ and ‘Argo’, and certainly better than ‘Live by Night’. In my opinion, he’s a far better director than he is an actor. Which is good, because he has an important role as Phil Knight, CEO of Nike, but too much screentime. The main star here is Sonny (Damon), who’s Nike basketball talent scout, and works with Rob (Bateman, mostly-serious), Howard (Tucker, good to see him back) and Peter (Maher) in Nike’s Portland headquarters in the mid-1980s.

Together, they set out to make something of Nike’s floundering basketball division, with all their revenue coming from selling running shoes, and being out-performed by Converse and Adidas. While Michael Jordan is central to the story, they specifically don’t show him at all, as this is the start of his journey to super-stardom – he’s represented by his mum, Deloris (Davis, always great), dad (Tennon) and agent David (Messina).

While it’s about negotiating a deal, that’s not the only focus, with most emphasis on Sonny and his relationships with his bosses, Jordan’s agent and parents and others in the real-world. Reminds me a bit of Damon’s performance in ‘Ford v Ferrari’ and how the film brings to life the passion and drama behind professional sports. It’s serves as a good companion piece to ‘The Last Dance’. Some good moments of levity – including the ending – some good 80s songs, some touching moments and all over in under 2 hours.

Overall: Solid acting, directing and writing make a film about a shoe interesting

Gav's Rating: 4 stars