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Anytime you see something like ‘from the director of’ a decent movie, that’s a good sign, and it can also be a good sign when the writer is also promoted — but when you see ‘from the producers of’ that doesn’t really mean anything at all except that the movie can be produced to completion and hopefully without too many problems. But sometimes this simply is because the producer has worked as a director before and really wants to make a name for themselves — from that perspective, I really can respect it.
The Good Mother comes from director Miles Joris-Peyrafitte, co-written with Madison Harrison, and stars Hilary Swank as Marissa, a journalist and widow living in Albany. The date is a little unclear — people are texting but not on the most recent phones, and there’s discussion vaguely of an ‘election’ in the newsroom where Marissa works.
But the journalist angle, which seems ripe for intrigue, isn’t really relevant in the scheme of things because it doesn’t seem like we know if Marissa is an investigative reporter or something else — clues are that she isn’t, so the capabilities don’t entirely line up. The movie starts with Marissa at work being informed by her son and cop Toby (Jack Reyner) that her other son Michael has been killed or died due to an overdose.
At the funeral, Marissa angrily slaps Michael’s girlfriend Paige (Olivia Cooke, also slumming), but this soon is revealed to be just Marissa’s impotent and drunken fury at being unable to save her son. This start of the movie is interesting enough, showing the parallel tracks of grief between the two of them, and after a break-in at Paige and Michael’s place, she flees with a large package of drugs that Michael apparently left behind (seems to be fentanyl, a noted point that isn’t really commented on from a systemic level, only as a ‘this is the problem’ plot point).
After that Marissa allows Paige to stay with her and the two eventually bond and plot to track down Michael’s killer. This is the actual thriller part of things, and there are some okay twists and turns here, but most are drawn out a little too long to be exciting or are too sudden to be really cared about.
There’s a hint of an interesting story here, and Hilary Swank and Olivia Cooke (who is one of the many great actors on House of the Dragon and easily handles an American accent here) aren’t really utilized to their full capability. Visually the movie handles itself well enough, and I think the director has some interesting potential for some of the scenes, although there are a few too many underlit, confusing set pieces that are difficult to follow (unintentionally).
Unfortunately it’s the screenplay that doesn’t fully work here, because the arc of the movie and its inherent tragedy should punch you in the face by the end, but instead it’s sort of an afterthought and a little forgettable. A good thriller should keep you tense and questioning everything until the end, but despite good performances from the two actresses here, the movie doesn’t entirely come together — I wouldn’t mind seeing what the director could do with a competent script though.
Note: We support the current WGA/SAG strike and emphasize the importance of writers and actors and ensuring they and fellow creatives are compensated and treated fairly for their work. This piece was written during the 2023 WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes. Without the labor of the writers and actors currently on strike, the movie being covered here wouldn’t exist.
The Good Mother has a run time of 1 hour 30 minutes, and is rated R for language throughout, some violent content and drug material.
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