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A Good Person was released in the United States on a limited theatrical release on March 24, 2023, before a wide expansion on March 31, 2023, by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. The film received mixed response from critics.
Plot
Allison Johnson is an aspiring musician, engaged to her high school boyfriend, Nathan Adams. The day following their engagement party, Allison causes an accident while driving with her eyes off the road, killing her future brother-in-law and sister-in-law, Jesse and Molly, and sustaining critical injuries.
One year later, dealing with severe depression and unable to deal with her guilt, Allison lives with her mother, Diane, who attempts to curb her daughter's addiction to pain pills. Meanwhile, Nathan and Molly's ex-cop father, Daniel, is taking care of his granddaughter, Ryan, who is still processing the loss of her parents.
After failing to get drugs illicitly from her friend, Becka, and after a humiliating encounter with two high school acquaintances leads her into a downward spiral, Allison joins an AA group. There, she unexpectedly encounters Daniel, who reveals in a meeting that his drinking resulted in repeated blackouts where he wouldn't remember his violent behavior, and that, on one such occasion, he destroyed the hearing in Nathan's ear. Ryan, in her turn, is bullied for her status as an orphan and in trouble for her behavior.
Allison meets Daniel at his house, and while leaving, she is confronted by Ryan for Allison's direct responsibility in her parents’ deaths. Allison eventually relapses, before pulling herself together and accompanying Ryan to a concert, where Allison is reintroduced to Nathan and his new paralegal girlfriend. Allison is devastated at what she perceives as a cruel act by Ryan, and accompanies her to an after-party where she relapses again. Allison is unable to protect Ryan being taken advantage of in a back room, but Daniel arrives drunk and puts an end to it, threatening Ryan’s rapist with a handgun. During the altercation, Nathan steps in front of the gun and talks his father down from his relapsed state. Outside, Daniel confesses that he considered Allison a test from God, but now realizes she's a waste and insults her before hailing a cab.
After accepting her role in the accident, Allison is able to move toward recovery. A year later, Allison is writing songs again, and she and Nathan reacquaint themselves. Daniel passes away suddenly, leaving Ryan in Nathan's care until she leaves for college, and Allison attends the funeral where she discovers Daniel's letter to her explaining his thoughts and that the Latin translation of his tattoo "amor fati" is "to love one's fate". After the wake, Ryan and Allison embrace on the front stoop.
On February 26, 2021, it was reported Zach Braff would write and direct A Good Person, a drama starring Florence Pugh and Morgan Freeman.[4] By March 2021, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) was in negotiations to acquire the rights to the film in a multimillion-dollar deal.[5] In September 2021, it was confirmed MGM would be producing and distributing the film, with Molly Shannon joining the cast, and Braff and Pugh set to produce.[6]
In July 2021, when asked if he would go back to directing feature films, Braff said "I'd like to do more. I just kind of, for better, for worse, I just go where the wind takes me ... and then the pandemic happened and I wrote this screenplay. And then that came together with Florence [Pugh] and Morgan Freeman".[7]Principal photography began in October 2021, with Celeste O'Connor,[8]Zoe Lister-Jones,[9] and Chinaza Uche joining the cast.[10] In November 2021, filming took place at Columbia High School, Braff's alma mater, in Maplewood, New Jersey.[11]
It was released on limited release on March 24, 2023, with wide expansion from March 31, 2023.[12] The film had its red carpet premiere at the Ham Yard Hotel in London on March 8, 2023.[13] The film was released on Blu-ray on May 30.[14]
Reception
Box office
A Good Person made $2.2 million in the United States and Canada, and $890,791 around rest of the world, grossing a worldwide total of $3.1 million.[2][3]
In limited release, the film grossed $832,007 at the box office from 530 theatres, finishing in 12th place.[15] The film had a wide expansion on March 31 alongside Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves, A Thousand and One and His Only Son, and grossed $510,210 at the box office, expanding 687 theatres and finishing 14th place beaten up by Champions (2023) (in a record of $700,000).[16][17]
Critical response
On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 58% of 118 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 5.9/10. The website's consensus reads: "Busy, baggy, and schmaltzy, A Good Person proves that the best of intentions and terrific performances can sometimes add up to a movie that's merely fine."[18]Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 50 out of 100, based on 32 critics, indicating "mixed or average" reviews.[19]
