Directed by: Rodrigo Garcia
Starring: Glenn Close, Mila Kunis, Stephen Root, Joshua Leonard
As a father of a now deceased addict, many sequences in Four Good Days rang bone-chillingly true. What Four Good Days captures most is the paranoia and fear of the addict's loved ones who can't trust the addict and are waiting for the next shoe to drop. It's tricky and painful. You want to believe your child when he or she swears this time they want to get clean. When they go out or borrow money, you fear it is for buying drugs or using them. It's almost as thin a tightrope as the addict walks.
Glenn Close stars as Deb, whose daughter Molly (Kunis) is seen in the opening moments banging on the front door and camping out on the front porch. With track marks all over, scabs on her face, and filth all over her body, Molly only wants to stay the night and have mom take her to rehab in the morning. Deb swore that she wouldn't walk down this dark path again. We learn Molly has unsuccessfully tried rehab fourteen times to no avail. What makes anyone think the fifteenth time will be the charm? Deb's husband Chris (Root) attempts to dissuade Deb from falling for Molly's promises yet again, but what is she to do? One of the more horrible aspects of addiction is how you're damned if you do and damned if you don't. You are forced to make nearly impossible choices.
A plot hole you can drive a truck through occurs as Chris stays offscreen for so long you think he moved out. Chris pops up from time to time, tries to keep Deb strong, and disappears again. He serves no functional purpose. While checking into rehab, Molly and Deb learn of a new miracle injection which will curb the addict's desire for heroin for thirty days until the next shot. In order to ensure Molly has no drugs in her system when she receives the medication, she must wait four painful days until she's ready. Any drugs in her body would cause a perhaps deadly adverse reaction.
Molly and Deb now play the waiting game for the four days. Molly could easily relapse and maybe this time she won't rebound. Or she could harm herself. Or she could disappear never to be seen again. Close is her always dependable self even and Kunis isn't simply playing a role where she uglies herself up in an attempt to gather awards season attention. Kunis has depth and brings sympathy to this portrait of a self-hating soul who turned to drugs to deal with her issues.
Despite the good intentions and occasional powerhouse moments, Four Good Days mostly has an afterschool special feel to it. It is worthwhile because of some of the emotions it touches upon, but I couldn't help but think it was only scratching the surface of an issue that better movies about addiction like Less Than Zero truly delve into.
No comments:
Post a Comment