The Good Mother

Through the decades of Hollywood's different versions of crime dramas, we've seen a myriad of ordinary to obscure scenarios--a list that is too numerous to mention. In "The Good Mother", that scale probably falls somewhere closer to the obscure side of odd storylines. 

This story follows journalist Marissa Bennings (Hilary Swank) who, after the murder of her estranged son Michael, forms an unlikely alliance with his pregnant girlfriend Paige (Olivia Cooke) to track down the killers. As Marissa's other son, police officer Toby (Jack Reynor) looks for the killers, both Marissa and Paige set out on their own  and subsequently confront a world of corruption and drugs in the seedy underbelly of Albany, New York in 2016. As they get closer to the truth, they unearth an even darker secret that conflicts all involved.

Others to round out the cast are Dilone as Gina, Toby's wife, Hopper Penn as Ducky, Norm Lewis as Jim, Marissa's editor, Karen Aldridge as Laurie, Larry Fessendon as Gary, Frank Alfano as Figure and Gregory Marsh as Dale. 

This was intensely directed by Miles Joris Peyrafitte ("As You Are" '16, "Dreamland" '19) plus TV, shorts and a podcast series. Although this filmmaker's sequencing was just a bit off, considering he only has two feature films under his belt, he certainly was able to keep your attention from the first frame to the last. His ability to bring these very underlying emotions, to create more intensity, was captured quite effectively. It was written effectively by Miles Joris Peyrafitte ("As You Are" '16) plus TV, a short and a podcast series, and Madison Harrison ("As You Are" '16). As the two women are searching for Michael's killers, the intensity seems to increase ever so subtly as each scene unfolds which keeps its audience on the edge of their seats. What is interesting about this is that as the ending approaches, the story leaves the audience with a conundrum of how the story is to end, or did the writers have a challenge in how to end the story. Not sure what went on. Some filmmakers like to leave a story open ended, but I'm not sure what happened here. I want to believe the latter. The twists and turns are numerous which allows its audience to view this as a real nail-biter. 

If you like crime dramas, then you'll be quite at home with this. It's not a riveting film, but one that carries a fair amount of interest. Hilary Swank gives her solid performance as she can do so well. And the supporting cast is believable, especially that of Jack Reynor as Tody. These filmmakers, with more experience behind them, will be superb writers and director. They just need more work which they will assuredly receive. 

Out of 4 Stars: 3                                       Rated: R                                              90mins.