'Good Grief' Review: Star Dan Levy Can't Match Talents Of Writer/director Dan Levy
What It's About Daniel Levy, of Skeet's Creek fame, makes his directorial debut with Good Grief, the story of a man who learns an unpleasant truth after his husband is killed in a car accident.
Levi also stars as Mark in the film, and Luke Evans (Gaston in Beauty and the Beast) makes a brief appearance as her husband, Oliver. Ruth Negga (Prem) and Himesh Patel (Yesterday) play best friends Mark, Sophie and Thomas.
After Oliver's death, revelations begin: a Christmas card hidden in a drawer tells Mark that Oliver was planning to explore his feelings for another man. Then a small house was discovered in Paris, which Oliver hid from her husband, who lived in London.
So, a year later, there's only one thing left to do: go to the City of Light with your best friends and find the answers
MY SAY Levy also wrote the screenplay for Good Grief and filled it with scenes that feel authentic in their depiction of the grieving process, but make Mark's posthumous discoveries more confusing and surreal.
As a director, he demonstrates a deep understanding of the complexity of the moment and the need to convey those feelings slowly and unexpectedly.
There are no big revelations, just quiet moments at home, in restaurants or walking down the street that mark the clash between the desire to move on, the tendency to mourn what you know, and the need to discover more. Intimate... you. the truth
It's a design that needs an actor who can convey everything. And here Levi is disappointed. Because we spend so little time with Oliver (he arrives at the party early, picks up the guests, and then rushes off to his destination), the film needs a solid performance to convey the extent of this loss without benefiting an understanding audience. This is. Naturally.
Levy is a good actor in the right context, but he struggles to convey the depth of Mark's anxiety. Throughout the film, he keeps his performance level and mellow, punctuated only by glimpses of sadness or irony. Because of this, the character remains at a considerable distance, isolated both from the audience on screen and from those around him.
Contrast this with Neger Levy, a truly great actor who brings such natural warmth to Sophie that she feels like she's known the man for years.
A film about Sophie could be more emotional, but we don't see that in Good Grief. Rather, it is the story of a relatively uninteresting man who feels something deep. There are moments of wisdom and beauty, but there are many others that always sound the same.
Bottom Levy: Levy the actor doesn't give the director/writer what he needs.
