Written and directed by Miles Joris-Peyrafitte, co-written by Madison Harrison, after the murder of her estranged son, a journalist forms an unlikely alliance with his pregnant girlfriend to track down those responsible. Together, they confront a world of drugs and corruption in the underbelly of a small city. Starring: Hilary Swank, Olivia Cooke, Jack Reynor, Dilone, Hopper Penn and Karen Aldridge.
You can’t go wrong casting Olivia Cooke, despite the fact she’s starred in blockbusters and iconic television shows, she’s yet to really get the appreciation she deserves. She is unbeatably charismatic, she can bring an intense and complex amount of emotion to the table, and she can be tenacious, all of which come in handy for The Good Mother. She’s instantly relatable, endearing and creates the heart of the story.
Whereas Hilary Swank’s Marissa is often cold and intensely draped with disillusionment, and a good amount of booze. So, when she’s paired with Cooke’s Paige, it slowly brings out all the good qualities in her which have been slowly drowned out by life’s hardships, they make for a great pair. While Jack Reynor comes in as the middle ground and creates a character who is interesting to unpack but slightly transparent.
A lot of the story revolves around that burgeoning relationship, while the rest investigates the death of Marissa’s son, and the father of Paige’s baby. The two blend well and Miles Joris-Peyrafitte’s direction establishes a good atmosphere of tension and a thriller style mystery. The story provides plenty of suspicious details around his death and it works on that classic doubt of whether a former addict did truly try to turn their life around or their sobriety fell short. However, that’s also where The Good Mother starts to get messy, because the deeper the story goes, the more it feels like an exploration of addiction and not a mystery thriller.
It’s something that’s particularly displayed by its ending, the choices strongly reflect the principles of healing addicts, forgiveness and making amends. In that sense, people who’ve been enjoying the thriller elements to the story, may feel disappointed by the final scenes, it certainly doesn’t follow the typical playbook. Which would be fair as it feels as though The Good Mother is pulling itself in two different directions, committing neither to being a story of how addiction can destroy families or a thriller.
It does feel as though there was the space and skills to elevate the film into being an exploration of addiction. The emotions are there, the performances certainly are and Joris-Peyrafitte’s directorial style finds a surprising depth. The use of architecture in particular shows the potential for expanding its compelling side. Although the progression does feel particularly slow in its latter scenes, it’s throwing in a pivotal moment, which feels more suited to a finale, too early which makes it run out of steam before the credits roll.
The Good Mother is a solid thriller but feels as though it wants to be a bigger exploration of addiction. In trying to be both, it does itself an injustice, when it had the cast, direction and tone to dive further into the far-reaching complications of addiction in families. Olivia Cooke is charming as usual and the spark that lights this story while Hilary Swank captures a brokenness with a slowly but satisfyingly restored spirit. It has a great foundation but ultimately feels like it fell short of its potential.
FilmCarnage.com 