“Destroy what destroys you.”
Nineteen-year-old Tommy is high on life, amongst other things. Roaming the United Kingdom streets with a rambunctious brood in tow is commonplace for a young adult with little regard for the well-being of others. Often drunk and a moth to the enticing nightlife flame, Tommy finds himself stumbling through roads and alleyways well into the wee hours of the morning.
That is, until one night when a mysterious stranger kidnaps him during a particularly drunken stupor.
The “Good Boy” in question, as the film’s title would suggest, finds himself in a weird home like a dog on a leash. Literally. A leash made of metal and a chain around his neck. Inhabiting the house is a family of three led by patriarch Chris (Stephen Graham), a dominant force in Tommy’s newfound surroundings.
Seemingly mild-mannered from the outside, the altruistic Chris keeps his captive chained to a dungeon basement. Confused by his current state and the juxtapositional behavior Chris embodies, Tommy is forced to watch news reports of drunk driving deaths mixed with videos of his own torment of vulnerable strangers at the hands of his king-like motives over the miscreants he encircles himself with.
Like Stanley Kubrick’s dystopian 1971 flick “A Clockwork Orange,” where the main character Alex gets away with delinquent behavior because of his charming effect on others, so too does Tommy float through life in the very same ways. But just like Alex experiences during an infamous incarceration sequence, Tommy must own up to his own mistakes while being subjected to disturbing visuals of his past crimes and the violence he once inflicted on others. Tommy is beaten by Chris within an inch of his life, all while the kidnapper exclaims, “bad boy!” to establish Tommy’s canine sensibilities further.
But there are several others that Tommy comes into contact with in the home, including a housekeeper he sees as his possible way out of this sticky situation. The young lad becomes acquainted with Andrea Riseborough, who portrays Chris’s wife, Kathryn, a woman struggling with PTSD (think Allison Janney in “American Beauty”), and their son (Kit Rakusen), forming a bond. Through many days of supposed rehabilitation and expansion of trust, Tommy’s world changes, and he starts to envision a path forward out of his predicament.
Let’s be clear: This is a kidnapping with good intent and a problematic execution. Light torture porn with a valuable message, perhaps. But is anyone actually looking for Tommy…and will he survive long enough to find out?
Director Jan Komasa (“Corpus Christi”) injects “Good Boy” with enough thrilling moments to keep the pace of the film flowing in an intriguing direction, while sticking to unpleasant themes of despair, grief, and coping with one’s past as a means to alter the future. The family that Tommy meets and hurts alongside ultimately seeks connection, and Tommy fulfills a need inside them they can’t bring themselves to confront. They all play off one another in surprising and humanistic, if not demented, ways.
A twistedly therapeutic feeling overcomes everyone involved to the point of no return. Hints of a significant loss and secret histories begin to reveal themselves in the avoidance residing within the walls of a home longing for redemption. Unfortunately for Tommy and the rest of his new family unit, one person’s rock bottom isn’t necessarily the answer to others’ salvation and vice versa.
“Good Boy” is doggone exceptional when it comes to the powerhouse acting abilities of Graham and Boon, both of whom take on their roles to showcase opposite ends of the rehabilitation spectrum. But even with talent at the helm both in front of and behind the camera, Kosama’s disjointed thriller is predictable throughout and never reaches the emotionality it seeks from its audience. Still, Tommy’s redemption arc is seen from various angles, and just like Alex’s journey in “A Clockwork Orange,” the end result is disturbing and even a bit schmaltzy, if not confoundingly apparent.
By the time the end credits roll, one may ask: Is Tommy’s old raucous life worth going back to in comparison to his forced captivity?
