“GOOD BOY”

With “Good Boy,” filmmaker Jan Komasa jumps right into the debaucherous lifestyle of his nineteen-year-old protagonist Tommy, played by Anson Boon. Tommy’s life at this point doesn’t amount to much besides partying until he and his friends are mind-numbingly intoxicated. His latest bender is no different as he’s walking through the streets of his hometown, drinking, using copious amounts of drugs, and refusing to slow down. Unfortunately, his inherently selfish ways harm not only himself but those around him. It’s not a sustainable way to live, which is why “average” family man Chris, played by Stephen Graham, decides to do Tommy a favor and step in the only way to help change his life for the better: through kidnapping Tommy and enacting reformation in the form of forced behavioral resetting. Komasa sets the stage for “Good Boy” to play out as a twisted thriller. Yet despite having a trio of great performers at its core, he’s not able to squeeze much out of what comes off as a classic example of been there, done that.

Audiences will spend most of their time watching “Good Boy” seeing Tommy roaming inside the household of Chris alongside his solemnly reserved wife Kathryn, played by Andrea Riseborough, and young son Jonathan (played by Kit Rakusen). This dysfunctional family attempts to integrate Tommy despite his obvious resistance due to the violation of the voluntary nature of his presence. We see Chris time and time again showing Tommy highlights of his past mistakes, homemade educational videos, and, along with his wife, sharing classic literature in the hopes that he devotes his energy to something more productive. There are times when Tommy’s brash nature conflicts with Chris’s gentleness, leading Chris to delve into his wickedness.

Bartek Bartosik and Naqqash Khalid’s screenplay is all about the push and pull of how this young hooligan and a suffering family have plenty to give to one another. Is this terrible event in Tommy’s life actually something that might be beneficial for him? The script takes this interesting concept and the film’s overall unnerving premise and settles for the bare minimum. Komasa’s direction also doesn’t feel as urgent, either, as the film’s pacing is horrid at times, dragging out a story that has little to say. There’s a storyline involving the maid who eventually moves in with the family during Tommy’s captivity. It all builds towards a resolution that not only is a distraction from what Komasa is trying to achieve, but is more than telling that there really isn’t much to “Good Boy” despite watching Boon and Graham go at it until one side wins out.

Graham, who is having a career year with the success of “Adolescence,” does his best to slip away into the mild-mannered psychopath that is at the core of this asinine procedure. Chris suffers in silence, carrying on each day in the hopes of doing what’s best for his family and even for someone like Tommy, whom he truly believes he is helping to become a better individual. Besides conveying the mainly benign nature of Chris, Graham isn’t doing anything revelatory with his craft, simply delivering an average performance. Boone, on the other hand, is pretty good at balancing Tommy’s self-indulgent traits for an internalized yearning for connection. It’s a more than solid performance for a role that isn’t quite layered as the themes at play. Riseborough is fine, mainly operating in silence, exuding an uncomfortable energy that is slowly peeled away the longer the film progresses. All three of these actors are doing their best to elevate the material, but not even Komasa’s direction can make something magical occur.

Along with the screenplay, the stagnant nature of “Good Boy” is what keeps this “Misery”-esque thriller from reaching any momentum, showing an inability to build any sort of worthwhile tension. Just when things begin to feel like they’re leading somewhere, it dissipates in such an inorganic manner. Even with the film’s final moments, which lead up to a morally complex conclusion born out of what these characters have shared, audiences will get nothing out of it. It’s competently directed, but for someone like Komasa, whose previous work, like “Corpus Christi,” manages to be both entertaining and thought-provoking, “Good Boy” can’t even muster a single moment of intrigue besides the well-edited opening montage.