Story: Luke (Daniel Levy) is a bereaved man filled with sorrow after the death of his husband and decides to go to Paris with his two best friends in an attempt to bring himself closure and start afresh.
Review: Famous for being part of cast for popular comedy show Schitt’s Creek, Daniel Levy writes, directs and plays the main character in “Good Grief”, an intense drama about coping with losing one’s partner for life. It tries to achieve much depth emotionally as a movie but comes short in several aspects. Its pace is painfully slow and the film becomes less interesting due to excessive dialogue.
The unfolding story revolves around a 38-year-old man named Luke, grieving the loss of his lover while facing disturbing revelations about their relationship. Overwhelmed by confusion and lack of directionality, Luke chooses to visit France together with his closest pals.
Levy deals effectively with sensitive topics such as mourning and gay relationships. The story is common yet the characters are shallowly drawn out. Due to its one-dimensional approach, the audience cannot feel their pain or pleasure when watching it; the most part of this film seems gloomy, except for a few joyful moments.
It’s touching that we see many open homosexual men playing roles that suit their sexual orientation led by Levy himself. However, his portrayal of someone struggling with moving on feels quite weak. Even though he has limited screen time, Luke Evans perfectly plays his role as Oliver who is both lovable and charming. Arnaud Valois also fits well into the character of flirtatious Theo without getting enough exposure onscreen though smartly dressed too. Imelda played by Celia Imrie is insightful and pragmatic; she adds an element of wisdom subtly laced with irreverence to her role as luke’s lawyer while Ruth Negga sounds artificial and harsh in her depiction of Sophie whom I didn’t like at all who was meant to be Lukes friend. The film’s music by Rob Simonsen and cinematography by Ole Bratt Birkeland successfully bring out the Christmas winter ambience in London and Paris.
To sum up, ‘Good Grief’ is a candid picture dealing with death that falls short of being fully affecting. Even though the narrative is familiar, it lacks the emotional depth to completely communicate for the characters’ sorrows and happiness.
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