Review of Good (2008) by Dave J — 04 May 2009

Good does a fairly good job of depicting the slow corruption of a man trying to be apolitical in times when that's even more impossible than usual; there is some strong dialogue and convincing confrontations between characters.

But it's based on a play, and it feels stagey; the bizarre musical interludes used to signal key moments in the central character's life are alienating and add nothing to our understanding. The way the story develops is very predictable; you can usually guess what's coming next despite the non-linear narrative.

Comparisons to other contemporary Holocaust films are inevitable, and Good has neither the poignancy of The Boy In The Striped Pyjamas nor the ingenious plot twists of The Reader.