GOOD

...the life he has created is most certainly not good, and neither is he.

If, like John Halder (Viggo Mortensen), you earn an honest living as a university professor, care for your aging mother, and pick up the slack for your mentally unstable wife at home, most people would consider you to be a good person.  Even so, being good is a pretty thankless job.  For the most part, nobody notices that you’re faithful to your family and friends or that you keep on showing up for life, even though you kind of want to bang your head against the wall.  After awhile it’s understandable that you would want something for yourself...even something kind of shocking, like a hot young lover.

Such is the case for John, whose resolve gradually weakens until he gives into temptation.  He carefully extracts himself from his former life, kindly but firmly bidding his wife and mother goodbye.  It’s a bold, uncharacteristic move from someone who has always toed the line,  but on some level it almost seems as though he deserves a little happiness.  If a foxy new wife does it for him, well, then, more power to him.  Except John doesn’t stop there.  Part of this whole-life makeover includes joining the Nazi party, you know, because it’s just easier than having all those annoying principles and morals and whatnot.

Indeed, if you lived in Germany during the rise of the Nazi regime, it was easier to follow along than to stand up for what was right.  Even though John doesn’t agree with Nazi beliefs and policies, it’s really no trouble pinning a swastika on his jacket, or accepting a nice promotion and a hefty raise.  Going along actually provides John with a pretty nice life, so why worry about all that book burning and persecution?  It’s just a nasty phase everyone needs to get through.

Of course it would be far easier for John to convince himself that there’s no harm in looking out for himself if not for his best friend, Maurice (Jason Isaacs), who serves as John’s oft-ignored conscience.  There are times when a friend’s moral failures can be accepted, but Maurice is Jewish and John’s passive acceptance of Nazism is an affront to his very being. His failure to stand up for Jews as a people is essentially a failure to stand up for his dearest friend.

Appropriately, Good is a slow-moving film that chronicles the subtle shifts in character that lead to tragedy.  Mortensen and Isaacs are both particularly suited to portray characters who grapple with moral dilemmas that are as complex as they are commonplace.  There is no one moment where John decides to be a weak person or a traitor, but it happens just the same, bit by bit, day by day.  It’s not enough to assume that someone else will take care of his mother, or that his friend will somehow avoid the concentration camps on his own - action is actually required to ensure that these things happen.  Ultimately, it is inaction that destroys John, leaving him with the realization that the life he has created is most certainly not good, and neither is he.

DVD NOTES

Extra features include cast interviews and behind-the-scenes footage.