Written and directed by Alethea Root, co-written by Ciera Danielle and star Jules Bruff, three adult siblings are brought back together after a shocking diagnosis forces them to confront harsh future realities regarding the mental state of one of their own. Also starring: Lexi Simonsen, Alex Quijano, Tess Harper, Myles Grier and Kim Estes.
Creating a portrayal of mental health that is realistic but also sensitive is not easy and it’s something that has typically been done poorly for a long time. Thankfully Alethea Root, Ciera Danielle and Jules Bruff managed to capture the chaos, difficulty, frustration and vulnerability of the topic. Unfortunately, Good Side of Bad ends up focusing so much on the topic and not enough on creating the backgrounds, relationships and wider lives of the characters. It’s quite confined to these experiences, fits of frenzy and hospitalisation, which limits the film.
The performances from the leading trio of Jules Bruff, Lexi Simonsen and Alex Quijano, do a great job of building the different personalities. Of course, Simonsen has the biggest challenge, but she rises to it, portraying Florence’s condition without making it feel melodramatic or exaggerated, it feels real. In that sense, she evokes a lot of sadness, it’s easy to empathise with her struggle, her waning grip on reality. It’s genuinely touching and even a little hard to watch at times, which speaks to how convincing Simonsen is.
Her portrayal is even stronger when paired with the performances of Bruff and Quijano as Florence’s siblings. They encompass the family side of things, the difficulty of caring for someone who’s ill, who doesn’t want help or is unable to realise that they’re in need of it. Quijano doesn’t quite get to dive in emotionally as much as his counterparts, but he rounds out the trio well. Whereas Bruff and Simonsen’s performances come from a vulnerable place. As does the brief but affective portrayal from Myles Grier, it’s incredibly sensitive and he plays so well alongside Simonsen, their scenes together are perhaps the most moving which Good Side of Bad has to offer.
Alethea Root’s directorial style then hits the right notes to capture those waves of emotion. There’s a simpleness to it but at the same time it manages to instil the frenzied and frantic nature of key moments, with the help of some solid editing work. The pacing and progression move well, even if it’s not expanding itself very far, as it’s coming in at a tight ninety-six minutes. One of the weaknesses however is the sound, the mixing doesn’t favour the dialogue, so it isn’t always easy to hear.
Good Side of Bad does well to create an empathetic and grounded portrayal of mental health issues and how they impact families. There’s a great cast at work, it’s a shame the lovely Tess Harper doesn’t get more involved with the story, as she has so much to add and there was a lot more room to explore their relationship with her character, their mother. It’s one of the ways that the story limits itself, not delving into avenues that expand the relationships and daily lives of its characters. So, while it’s a solid drama with thoughtful direction, it had the potential for something deeper, to connect more strongly with the audience.
FilmCarnage.com 