REVIEW: ‘Good Grief’ Lacks Necessary Spark

Dan Levy’s Good Grief is neat. It’s tidy with crisp, clean lines like the immaculate white sheets that adorn the character’s luxury bed. Levy shows genuine promise in his first film as director (and writer and star). Levy brings the expected warmth and cadence we love from his series Schitt’s Creek. That said, while Good Grief has plenty of lovely sentiments and touches on thematic truths of being human—and therefore, messy, selfish, and prone to mistakes—it’s all too safe. The film refuses to let go of our hands as it walks us through each new stage of life. He holds onto us from one affluent setting to the next.

Levy plays Marc, a former painter turned illustrator for his novelist husband, Oliver (Luke Evans). On the outside looking in, their life appears flawless. The gorgeous home is packed with their equally gorgeous friends on Christmas Eve, Oliver playing good-natured conductor to this party of the social elite as they carol and sing, happy and warm with holiday spirit. This won’t last, however, as soon after Oliver is in a fatal accident and Marcus must endure a year without him with the aid of his friends, Sophie (Ruth Negga) and Thomas (Himesh Patel.)

If this were simply the story of how one moves past loss, it would still maintain its heart and humor, but the film goes beyond by adding a necessary stumbling block. Oliver was seeing someone else, something Marc finds out about a year after his death. To find closure and answers, he whisks him, Sophie, and Thomas away to Paris, where he learns Oliver has a secret apartment. Despite his secrecy, the trip prompts necessary character insight and personal revelations that instill a greater sense of drama in the film. Death might be the story’s catalyst, but it’s the human connections between the living when the film is at its best.

The strongest component of Good Grief is Levy’s ability to capture the truth of adult friendships. Platonic love is just as integral to our lives. It is just as much the backbone of who we are and the pulse of how we grow. The friendship between Marc, Sophie. and Thomas sings. The trio possesses the necessary chemistry, and they constantly choose one another as their anchors. The dialogue is at its most natural between the three as they journey to find themselves. Thomas often acts as the voice of reason to Marc and Sophie’s impulsive, selfish, even dispositions.

Patel and Negga are so good, so constantly eye-catching, that they threaten to steal the film away from Levy, who the story centers on. It might be Marcus, who we follow as he meets with a man who enlightens his perspective on grief, but we want to be following the other two instead. Negga, in particular, is innately watchable and infuses her character with such energy that it allows her a wealth of interiority that instills a greater understanding. She’s good enough that we don’t need to spend every minute with her to understand what makes Sophie tick, but we want to anyway.

Levy, too, is mostly in fine form, especially in moments of silence as he takes in his loss. Unfortunately, despite the heartfelt, observational story and the strong performances, the film suffers due to the layer of artifice that coats the final finish. Every frame could be a perfume ad with elegant furnishings and perfectly curated ensembles. Even sadness is captured prettily. The characters often talk about how they’re a mess and how “no one” has their lives together, but that fails to come through in the film beyond words.

The film needed an edge or a greater sense of realism. There’s nothing wrong with the direction, but it lacks spark. Good Grief is fine, but it lacks soul. It’s one thing for a character to talk about loss and the process of moving on and another for the viewer to feel those emotions, too. We’re left cold as we witness people talk about death rather than emotional due to it as it fails to immerse us in the post-loss turbulence.

Good Grief isn’t a bad film; there’s no denying Levy’s talent and clear vision. But it needed more — more heart, more emotion, more mess, anything. The result is demonstrative of skill but lacks the soul of a good, heart-wrenching story as it maintains a level of gloss that strips it of cinematic appeal. It’s fine, harmless, but toothless too.

Good Grief is streaming now, exclusively on Netflix.