Returning to his home turf of Jersey, writer/director Braff has made his best film in a long time although it sometimes struggles to be consistent or congruent. The strong performances of Pugh and Freeman raise the film and make it both very watchable and powerful despite some of the script's short cuts. Overall A Good Person ends up being more good than bad, especially in the lead performances.
As I said, the stars of this show, specifically Pugh and Freeman, truly stand out. The story is one that requires a lot of meandering and some leaps and their performances help smooth this over. Their characters, very realistically, make bad choices, oscillate between emotions and points of view (as real people do), and are sometimes less likeable than other time (again, as real people are). But the film doesn't always make these transitions for them very well and it's only the skills of the cast which help make it all work. The connection between Pugh and Freeman is remarkable and it's great to see Freeman especially get to take on such a meaty and fascinating role, and as one would expect, he excels at it.
A Good Person is a film about very unpleasant things and being human throughout and I'll give it credit for swinging for the fences in terms of honesty and realism while also balancing that with a hope and humanity that is inspiring. It doesn't always work perfectly but it works more than it doesn't.
A Good Person
Starring: Florence Pugh, Morgan Freeman, Celeste O'Connor, Molly Shannon, Chinezea Uche, Zoe-Lister Jones, Alex Wolff
Writer/Director: Zach Braff
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