Good Grief
NETFLIX
It actually comes as a small surprise that Good Grief acts as Daniel Levy’s directorial debut. Having had his breakout hit with both commercial and critical success in the outstanding Schitt’s Creek, as well supporting roles in Happiest Season, he finally gets to strut his writer-director capabilities in the cinematic medium with a heartfelt, poignant and fabulous debut.
Akin to Schitt’s Creek, Levy takes a genre and convention that is quite simple – or, in other words, accessible – and personifies the material with his comedic sentiments and charm. Good Grief takes the conventional tale of a breakdown in a relationship and the fallout of said impact, yet Levy devises such with this sense of wonderful sensitivity and texture. It’s far slower than its contemporaries, far well balanced in tone, and has a warmth and genuine compassion with the material that is very rarely felt in this genre of recent years. Partly due to Levy having a direct hand at writing, and then directing, this piece, which creates a deeper layer of emotionality from its creator and therefore screen to viewer. It isn’t a job for hire, nor a pay check with little emotional connection. Instead, it acts as a deeply personal touch on morality and acceptance. Levy’s touch is so delicate and sensitive here that the conventional tale becomes lost within the plot of seeing these characters develop and evolve. Levy opts to give great precedent to his central lead character, but ripples that begin to affect his close friendships, and thus performances, are then brought back in with the tide and have a connective emotional tissue that builds weight and reinforces depth and immersion. Yes, certain characters are arguably not given as much external weight when compared to others; Ruth Negga is one who builds and builds with external force and pressure while Himesh Patel leads a more weighted, internal density that doesn’t erupt in a similar manner but simmers away with as much substance. It is all reinforced with the very notion of what grief is to the individual. Grief is individual and relative, thus the coping and response varies, which is an attribute Levy demostrares here in a small and subtle touch with terrific efficiency.
Let it be known that Levy isn’t doing a rehash here of David in Schitt’s Creek. Granted, much of the external talent of emotional catharsis is present, but Levy doesn’t rest easy on old pastures. Here is a heavily weighted and dense performance with a maturity and whimsical aloof stoicism that, once again, reiterates the tragedy of his circumstance and the method of dealing with his own grief. Certain scenes just linger on his muted but emotionally rich response to his surroundings or characters – his few scenes with David Bradley elevate to phenomenal territory – and allows him to showcase so much by doing so little, a staple of a fabulous actor who understands performance, with glistening eyes overtaken with emotion and tears. Subtle details that have such an effective visual impact upon its audience.
Furthermore, Levy is equally as competent behind the camera, showcasing little ego but never rough around the edges, with strong framing and composition. It’s warm yet cold opening doing a perfect job of illustrating immersion yet with impact and style. A sentiment that, visually, Levy takes in his stride throughout. Levy also manages to find a perfect balance between writing and visualisation in pause and reflection. Not only does this reinforce the sensitivity of the material but adds such an immersive emotional pause to be caught in a fleeting moment that subdues the very grief his character is engulfed with. It’s these levels of craft that genuinely come at such a surprise for a debut which could so easily be an ego trip of propelled talent, yet instead showcases its creator as a sophisticated and morally conscious artist.
That being said, it does jump the shark in its third act by bringing a certain third party character into proceedings with a second wind of emotional complexity and narrative that falls a little flat. In hindsight, this is a feature that would convict better in never seeing this third party character. It is abundantly clear they exist and their impact felt throughout the feature, but not ever seeing them or finding them adds a terrific sense of emotional reality and feeling to sometimes never finding peace or comfort in devastation, having to come to terms of that aspect of grief giving no answers. Levy takes a different stance and gives his character a form of emotional catharsis through this certain character to come to peace with his husband, but it feels both underused and at a consequence of giving time to evaluate certain arcs with his two friends. It’s arguably down to the nature of this being Levy’s directorial debut as well as maturity as a writer to not give total and utter precedent to a character finding solace. That aside, Levy crafts an emotionally beautiful and utterly compelling composition in the complexity of grief. Examining its resulting fallout with warm texture and emotional conviction. Balancing tone in the whimsical and then devastating in lighthearted vulnerability as if this is Levy’s fifth or sixth outing behind the camera. Yet, as a directorial debut impresses with such candid openness and organic storytelling, it is without a shadow of a doubt a terrific opening that showcases an emerging and talent voice.
