GOOD GRIEF

Good Grief opens with a heap of festive joy and joviality, as Marc (Daniel Levy) and Oliver (Luke Evans) host their annual Christmas party. And while it may hint at a few niggles here and there in the relationships of our cast, it is, ultimately, a representation of love and happiness. 

Unfortunately for our characters happiness is not easily found after these opening moments as, as  Oliver heads out on a work trip to Paris, he is involved in a fatal car accident.

We next see Marc, in the days after the crash, waking to Rob Simonsens beautiful score. A score which lovingly matches the tone of the film, and of Marc, expertly managing to convey the grief and melancholy he is feeling.

It is a stark contrast to the Christmas songs and jolly singalongs of the party we witnessed just moments ago, and helps hit home how quickly and dramatically things have changed.

Simonsens score has heartbreak and sadness running through it, grounding Good Grief whilst also keeping its audience in that emotional state over the course of its runtime, building you to exactly where you need to be for its emotional climax.

This is not, however, to say that Good Grief is all misery from the crash onwards. As with his work on Schitts Creek writer/director Levy manages to perfectly weave jokes into even the most heartfelt moments.

A perfect example of this being the funeral, as Lily (Kaitlyn Dever) - an actress working on the film adaption of one of Olivers books - eulogises not about Oliver himself, but about the impact on her, and how she hopes that the film studio continue making the films as a “tribute” to the deceased.

It is a funny moment which acts as a great counterbalance to Duncan (David Bradley) - Olivers father - who then speaks about his sons childhood, and the regret he feels as a father over who he was to his young child. 

Bradley only appears in a couple of scenes but, as he often does, completely steals the show. Every word he says is believable. Every pause or stutter as he speaks about his son, conveying the emotion that he feels. 

These two moments highlight exactly what Daniel Levy does best. The first, overtly funny A scene which could have been over the top, but he manages to get a foothold on it, and manages to keep it within the tone of the film. 

The second, utterly heartbreaking. 

With a less talented director at the helm this could have been jarring, but Levy manages to make both feel natural in the context of the film. 

Also in the cast, as Marcs best friends we have Sophie (Ruth Negga) and Thomas (Himesh Patel), who accompany him on a trip to Paris. A trip born out of a need to face up to the revelations to hit Marc in the aftermath of his husbands death. 

Both Negga and Patel portray their characters with the right level of pretentiousness of people that come from that art world, without ever allowing them to tip over into being outright unlikable, which is a testament both to the performances themselves, and Daniel Levys writing.

Anyone who has watched Schitts Creek will know that Daniel Levy can write and act, but in the build up to Good Grief questions were raised over whether he could find his voice as a director. 

Levy has answered those questions with a defiant yes. Good Grief is a film with a firm hand on its subject matter, and the emotional drive that comes with it. It is a film with grief, love and friendship at its very core, and almost every choice that Levy makes exudes this.

Some may wish that it had explored its themes in a little more depth, but for me Good Grief was an intensely affecting dive into the subject. And one which, in the first week of January, may have delivered us one of the films of the year.