'Good People' Dull and Uninspiring

In “Good People,” Britain’s most boring couple finds some illegal drug money and then gets hunted down by the stereotypical “bad guys” because that’s what happens in every action movie. Kate Hudson and James Franco star as Anna and Tom Reed in Henrik Ruben Genz’s thriller-by-name-only. After Ben, the tenant living in their basement, dies of a drug overdose, the couple discovers £220,000 he stole from his equally corrupt friends. Like any daring and slightly stupid action movie couple oblivious to the consequences of their decisions, they take the money to pay off their debts. Of course, bad guys with guns come after them. Lines then blur between good and bad people—an overdone and obvious message—in a movie replete with wearisome characters, a plot severely lacking in originality, and an overall cinematic effect of failed suspense.

“Good People” is quite deficient in the creativity and integrity of its dialogue, making the characters uninspired and predictable and allowing for no character development. The relationship between Anna and Tom seems painfully tedious, as they deliver cliché lines without a hint of excitement. There is not one moment throughout the film in which they exhibit the lively chemistry of a young married couple, but rather are frustratingly affected the whole time. The lackluster couple seems only a device to set the plot in motion so the viewer can see the more exciting scenes of violence later on.

It is difficult for a movie to have an enthralling and believable plot if it is set in motion by a stupid action, and “Good People” is no exception. The storyline is so overdone that it is entirely predictable from start to finish—not a good start for a movie based upon the idea of suspense. The beginning of the movie seems to drag on forever, as it contains the labored dialogue between Tom and Anna and the obvious introductory parts the viewer could already have predicted. However, some scenes of the film are so totally improbable they would have been humorous if the movie had not succeeded in already putting its viewers to sleep. The final scene culminates in a murder by nail gun, a woman and a baby jumping out of a window, and a house burning down, of course, for dramatic effect.

The cinematography also does nothing for the suspense. Many of the shots, even at the climax of the film as the Reeds face off the criminals, were filmed from too far away and showed too much of the scene to leave the viewer guessing about what would happen next. Though the score was certainly ominous, it was also monotonous and repetitive, which, mixed with the long shots, made the scenes just tiresome. However, certain surprisingly interesting visual techniques surface occasionally throughout the film, slightly redeeming its dismal position. One of the beginning scenes of the movie features a close-up shot of a windshield upon which a sudden splatter of blood appears with the sound of a gunshot. The view through the windshield changes as the car begins to veer to the left, windshield wipers frantically smearing the blood. From this high-intensity shot, however, the movie goes drastically downhill. Nonetheless, the entire film is bathed in a dark greenish glow, which is effective in making the mood more ominous. Occasionally, there are some shots filmed totally upside down, which add visual interest and variety to the movie. These unexpected elements, however, are largely unable to compensate for the film’s overarching lack of flavor.

“Good People” is mind-numbingly boring—it follows perfectly the template for a standard action movie, with stereotypical and uninspired characters and an unoriginal and painfully easy-to-predict plot. The film fails to do well even what most thrillers do: create a suspenseful yet unintellectual storyline.

—Contributing writer Irene A. Nicolae can be reached at irenenicolae@college.harvard.edu.