Directed By Maya Forbes and Wallace Wolodarsky

Starring – Sigourney Weaver, Kevin Kline, Morena Baccarin

The Plot – Life for New England realtor Hildy Good (Weaver) begins to unravel when she hooks up with an old flame (Kline) of hers from New York. Based on Ann Leary’s novel of the same name, the film is about second chances, and how they alter the path of one’s life direction.

Rated R for brief sexuality and adult language

(1) The Good House | Official Trailer – YouTube

POSITIVES

On the surface level of the accommodating trailers, “The Good House” appears to be a Nicolas Sparks descendent, with the same artificial lighting and impossibly beautiful scenery that alludes to the ideal of pretty people problems. However, while the film is adapted from a 2013 novel of the same name that was not written by Sparks, it tackles something much deeper in the form of alcoholism, and the requirement of functioning through a life with such a disease. It’s an insightfully revealing and at times poignantly crippling engagement that the duo of directors uses to vividly paint such a discourse in the air of their technical elements, while cementing what is easily the most ambitious project for either of them in their limited directing capacities. The editing, while initially triggering an uneasiness within me for the various continuity errors it conveyed, renders an intentionally disjointed essence in consistency that leads to a repetition of movements, or an undercutting in dialogue that makes many of the interactions between characters discomforting. In addition to this, Forbes brings along her trusted director of photography in Andrei Bowden Schwartz to elicit an atmospheric significance in the feelings of intoxication, with swooping movements and claustrophobic proximities that bear an underlining uneasiness when compared to the rest of the otherwise scenically sedated aesthetics throughout the film. Schwartz equally captures a sense of community within the air of establishing shots and razor-sharp framing that bears with it a sense of constant community in the identity of the film’s commanding visuals, with the surrounding waters and small-town window shops harvesting an easy-living way of lived-in ideals to the setting. In addition to this, the work from Weaver is easily her best in decades, with an unraveling vulnerability that initially feels temporary, but with time grows all the more troubling for her character’s psyche. As a protagonist, Hildy carries the baggage of an abusively traumatic past, a failing business, and a gossiping community that are all like boiling elements to Weaver’s simmering annoyance, and when combined with the Leisures of the bottle unlocks many passionate releases within her that convey what about the actress feels so believable and gripping when she plays a role with frailty. Finally, and most appealing is the soundtrack of assorted 70’s classics that at least gave me temporary reprieve from some of the film’s bigger issues. This is probably intended as a reflection of the characters to their youthful days, but for my money serenades these sequences with an air of longing and regret that further adds to the aforementioned poignancy of the engagement, that, if nothing else gave me another opportunity to listen to 70’s soul band, The Marmalade, one more time, while corresponding breathtakingly with the town’s intoxicating scenic visuals

NEGATIVES

Unfortunately, this is a film that doesn’t know what it wants to be, both tonally and consistently in the direction of the narrative. On the former, the film is framed with a clever fourth-wall breaking narration by Weaver that is typically used in most comedies, and even here constructed to prescribe levity to scenes in between dramatic heft. The problem is that this script never picks one side or the other, and instead the two sides of difference abruptly shift constantly throughout, which in turn undersells the drama and never commits enough to the comedy to resonate properly to the audience. On the latter, the film is a brief 98 minutes of run time, yet it tries to focus on an abundance of characters and corresponding subplots that it doesn’t have enough time to properly flesh out in transcribing a sense of meaning to the justification of its usage. One such example pertains to a gimmick where Hildy can supposedly read minds, but it resonates then exits as quickly as Weaver’s Bostonian accent, but with only half of the humility. This aspect of creative hopping is where a TV format would work far better for a script of this convoluted essence because the rushing here doesn’t allow its materializing to emit naturally in the manner that nuance properly conveys, in turn leaving the consistency of the pacing feeling like we’re being constantly rushed out the door during particular subplots that we were just beginning to feel invested in. This leads to diminishing returns in the air of a talented ensemble of familiar extras like Kline and Baccarin, who do a terrific job when they’re called upon, but feel so underutilized in the grand scheme of things. It’s easy to interpret that this is Weaver’s film for the taking, but considering Kline is the advertised primary love interest, it’s a bit disappointing that there’s so little to his character besides what Hildy requires from him, leaving Kline and the ensemble feeling like one-dimensional townies that never transcribe an irreplaceable presence to the film they’re graciously enhancing.

OVERALL
“The Good House” is a fixer-upper in much need of the kind of tonal consistency and patience in storytelling to restore its foundation to glory. Though Weaver’s appeal as a charmingly functioning alcoholic keeps it from completely being condemned, the film surrounding her implodes on inconsistencies, leaving us locked out of the kind of compelling drama that at the very least could’ve made it memorable.

My Grade: 5/10 or D+