All Rise...

Judge Gordon Sullivan is a bad bad boy.

The Charge

Money changes everything.

The Case

I don't think it's a cause for doom and gloom like some pundits, but we can't ignore the fact that the way that movies are consumed changes the kinds of movies that get made. A film like Gone with the Wind seems like it would be impossible to make outside an era where some people still treated movies like going to the theater, complete with dressing up and pre-feature meals. Obviously we're still in the throes of what phones and tablets will do to movies, but the new distribution options created by services like Netflix will have an impact. If we can judge based on Good People, we're less in the era of movies-as-theater than we are in an era of "eh, why not?" Looking at the cast list and brief synopsis, it's hard to imagine it'll be a good movie, but in the era of streaming it's easy to say "sure, why not?" Based on that criteria, Good People is a success, offering plenty of head-scratching moments that the actors perform with aplomb. For those looking for coherence, consistency, or a satisfying conclusion, Good People will disappoint.

Tom (James Franco, Howl) and Anna (Kate Hudson, Almost Famous) are a couple with a debt problem. That is, until the tenant in their house turns up dead from an overdose and leaves behind a pile of cash. Their problems are solved until the dealer their tenant stole from (Omar Sy, The Intouchables) comes looking for his money, and the couple discover that their tenant was into some serious business. Now the couple have to play rival criminals off of one another if they hope to keep the money and their lives.

If you took Shallow Grave and crossed it with True Romance, you'd have a vague idea of what Good People sort of aspires to be…except you have to leech out all the tense visual inventiveness of the former and all the great dialogue from the latter. The film is pretty nonsensical, and when it tries to be a thriller it generally falls on its face due to the outlandish premise and so-so writing. Those looking for classic thriller pleasures like a tight plot and effective characterization will be disappointed. Very little about Good People works on traditional thriller level, as ridiculous moment spins out into ridiculous moment.

It's not all bad, though. The cast is pretty great. It's not the kind of material that produces (or warrants) award-winning performances, but half the fun of the film is watching good actors slum with B-grade thriller material. James Franco and Kate Hudson look lost trying to bounce between their "just folks" life as a debt-ridden couple and their attempts to be "tough" by controlling violent criminals. Omar Sy does a fine job spitting menacing dialogue and just generally being threatening. Tom Wilkinson plays a cop bent on revenge, and he brings a surprising gravity to a role that should be a bit silly.

The film fails to really work as a thriller, but it does manage to entertain when it stops trying to be a "good" thriller and instead embraces its goofy, almost baroque elements. The film was never on solid ground in the first place; I could almost buy the conceit of the dead tenant in Shallow Grave, but here the idea that Tom and Anna think they can get away with keeping money so obviously belonging to a drug deal is laughable. It also works in True Romance because of the cross-country trip the characters take. Here it's just silly. But once the film gets over trying to set up the world realistically and instead embraces its insane plot twists and goofy machinations, it becomes watchable. Though not thrilling in the traditional sense, the finale manages to keep things moving quickly enough that it's almost possible to forget how ridiculous it all is.

The Blu-ray release isn't terrible either. The 1.78:1/1080p AVC-encoded image looks slick and contemporary. Detail is strong throughout, with good color reproduction and nice black levels. It's a surprisingly good transfer of a surprisingly good looking movie considering it probably didn't have a lavish budget or a lengthy shooting schedule. The film's TrueHD 5.1 track is also surprisingly strong. Dialogue is clean and clear throughout, with some good separation and surround effects. The lone extra is a short making-of featurette that provides the standard EPK-level overview of the film.

Good People is the kind of film that provides a weird set of pleasures, mostly seeing famous actors doing goofy things to drive a ridiculous plot. It's worth the 91 minutes if you're a fan of the actors or have a high tolerance for nonsense. Those looking for a more traditionally satisfying thriller should go elsewhere.

The Verdict

Not good, but not guilty.

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