Good Boy, 2025.
Directed by Jan Komasa
Starring Stephen Graham, Andrea Riseborough, and Anson Boon.
SYNOPSIS:
Nineteen-year-old Tommy lives an unruly life of criminality until he is kidnapped by a stranger. He soon finds himself trapped in a dysfunctional family dynamic, where he is forced to change his behaviour to become a ‘good boy’.
Jan Komasa’s Good Boy works as a prime example of knowing as little as possible about the dark corners he’s about to drag you into. That way you can be as shocked, disgusted, confused and unsettled as the story’s, I want to say protagonist, but that word is imbued with the idea of someone to root for, or a champion, and there’s very little about Anson Boon’s Tommy that could be described like that.
He’s an obnoxious, irritating, vessel of toxicity, with no self-worth or respect for a society that he weaves a trail of hate through, often capturing it on his social media livestreams. It ranges from petty bullying, to physical and verbal abuse, and it’s what brings him to the attention of mild-mannered family man Chris, who puts on his toupee and decides it’s time to perform some excessive Clockwork Orange-level social rehabilitation on the lout.
In terms of the plot mechanics, to reveal much more would remove something from the unnerving way in which the nightmare unravels, but suffice to say that to label Good Boy as simply another captivity movie would be to do it a disservice. Chains and pulleys, moonlight dancing, and Ken Loach movie nights are just the tip of the iceberg in this twisted tale.
One of Good Boy‘s main strengths can be found in the way the script and performances manipulate your preconceptions about the characters. During the opening montage in which Tommy is unhinged vulgarity personified, not for a minute do you think you’ll be rooting for him to escape his prison. There will probably be a part of you that thinks what creepy Chris is doing to his prisoner might just make him a better person. It’s the ol’ Thanos conundrum, in which you can see some logic in the villainous behaviour.
As the ‘bad guy’ Stephen Graham is terrific. Channeling Kathy Bates’ Annie Wilkes, he delivers a chilling turn-on-a-dime performance that continually has you on edge about whether he’s going to offer up a life-lesson or a lashing. He charms as much as he chills. As Tommy, Anson Boon (Pistol) fast becomes his equal, presenting this complicated vessel of the unaccountability of youth. Audiences will wrestle with their moral compass about how he’s being ‘rehabilitated’, and just as the promise of redemption is offered up, the faintest flicker of a smile on his face will belie the truth and once again you’ll be confused about where your loyalties are.
Andrea Riseborough also employs her particular set of skills as the ethereal matriarch, drifting into the story like a solemn spectre, seemingly haunted by secrets yet to be discovered. Her unreadable dark eyes and growing presence in proceedings only help in making the audience shift uncomfortably in their seats.
With all of this uncertainty and blurring of the distinction between right and wrong, it’s a shame that Good Boy can’t find the courage to come to a decision about what it wants to say about its characters. Ambiguity is fine, with plenty of questions remaining unanswered, but the messages here are so mixed. The film also appears to have multiple endings stitched together, with the final beats feeling like a cop out based on everything that you and the characters have endured.
That said, Good Boy is still relentlessly bleak ‘fun’ and twisty-turny throughout, with Stephen Graham once again excelling in a role about adolescence of a different kind.
Flickering Myth Rating – Film ★ ★ ★ ★/ Movie ★ ★ ★
Matt Rodgers – Follow me on Twitter
