"The Good Mother" is more compelling as a drama than a thriller

The Good Mother (2023)

Slickly made and well-acted, “The Good Mother” shifts between being a gritty, character-driven drama about addiction and then a crime thriller with a big ol’ twist. Writer-director Miles Joris-Peyrafitte and co-writer Madison Harrison, both Albany natives, try getting their arms around a lot for their story set in their hometown in 2016. If the film doesn’t really say anything too revelatory concerning the opioid crisis, gun violence, alcoholism, and corruption, that doesn’t make it any less engrossing.

Hilary Swank gives it her all as Marissa Bennings, an Albany journalist who numbs her grief with alcohol. She is the titular “good mother,” but her two sons have grown up worlds apart. Her one son, Michael (Madison Harrison, who co-wrote the script) is a criminal and an opioid addict, tied up in dealing heroin, coke, and fentanyl. Her other son, Toby (Jack Reynor), is a police officer. When Toby brings Marissa the news that Michael has been murdered in what looks like a deal gone wrong, it seems the mother has already been grieving. At Michael’s funeral, Michael’s girlfriend Paige (Olivia Cooke), a recovering junkie, comes back into the picture — she’s pregnant. 

In a more convincing (and less sentimental) progression than this will sound, Marissa and Paige unite in their grief for Michael but also have their suspicions about who killed Michael. While they let the police investigate, they get a jump on the case. Swank is very good here as Marissa, effortlessly convincing as a woman whose life is in a constant state of hangovers and devastation. Cooke is also terrific as Paige, who’s much more sympathetic than Marissa initially makes her out to be, and a solid Jack Reynor brings a restrained bitterness as Toby. The tense, prickly dynamic between all three is the most interesting element here, and all three powerful performers sell it. Read the full review at GuyAtTheMovies.com

Grade: B -

Vertical released “The Good Mother” (89 min.) in select theaters on September 1, 2023.