The opening scenes of this film indicate it may be akin to Stephen Graham‘s acclaimed recent work in Adolescence,as an obnoxious and out-of-control yob runs riot and terrorises people along with his friends. However, within a few minutes, it is obvious this is the anti-Adolescence, as we meet the said hooligan, Tommy (played by Anson Boon), who is chained in a cellar. He has been incarcerated there by married couple Chris (Graham) and Kathryn (Andrea Riseborough), who are attempting to rehabilitate him.
Their country pile is miles from anywhere, so there is no hope of help for the feral young man who, rightly, rebels against his captivity despite being bombarded with « calming » classical music and videos of his misdeeds, along with films about self-improvement. The couple’s young son Jonathan (Kit Rakusen) is unperturbed about his parents’ prisoner, helping to prepare his meals and encouraging his father to allow them to have a movie night.
Less relaxed about the situation initially is the couple’s Macedonian cleaner Rina (Monika Frajczyk), but with her own immigration issues hanging over her, she doesn’t interfere.
Chris seems to have friends in high places, so any intervention would likely be useless anyway, although we never quite learn how he formed his connections.
Should Tommy step out of line, he has to contend with being tasered or beaten. Good behaviour is rewarded with treats and compliments. Throughout it all, Chris remains stoic and calm with a Stepford-esque grin on his face – it is just part of the process.
At times, The Good Boy is reminiscent of A Clockwork Orange as Chris and Kathryn determine to instil their own family values on their guest, who slowly begins to comply with their teachings.
This is Polish director Jan Komasa’s first English-language feature film and he appears to be heavily influenced by Yorgos Lanthimos’ surrealist style. At 1 hour and 50 minutes, the film does lag a bit in the third act, but it remains engaging nonetheless.
In the midst of the strange and provocative premise are fantastic performances from all the powerhouse actors, which manage to avoid falling into caricature (although Graham is dangerously close at times). Boon’s Tommy in particular could easily have been a stereotype, but he brings a lot of depth to him.
The poignant ending leaves you with more questions than you started with, and it is an incredibly thought-provoking film. It lingers with you long after the credits and could easily start the same sort of discussions about rehabilitation of bad behaviour as Adolescence did about the Manosphere and toxic masculinity.
This is a compelling watch, which will no doubt be analysed to death and have numerous theories bandied about regarding its underlying message. But it is best watched with no preconceptions so you can make up your own mind.
The Good Boy is out now in cinemas.
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