REVIEW: GOOD GRIEF

4/5

Down and Out in Paris and London. 

100 Mins. Starring: Daniel Levy, Ruth Negga, Himesh Patel, Celia Imrie, David Bradley, Arnaud Valois, Medhi Baki, Kaitlyn Dever, Emma Corrin & Luke Evans. Screenplay: Daniel Levy. Director: Daniel Levy. On: Netflix.

Up s###'s creek, without so much as a paddle, or a Eugene for fatherhood leverage, Daniel Levy faces grief head on. Not to mention his definitive directorial debut. The 'Schitt's Creek' star and writer for Netflix follows the best sitcom of today with the most heartbreaking and healing thing you'll see all year...and I'm aware it's barely halfway through January. In 'Grief', Levy writes a love letter to a lost one in the form of a formidable pairing with Luke Evans, which begins as the greatest Christmas party and sing-a-long you've ever attended. The festive feeling brought home by the white marble of those legacy making London homes that could rival New York's Brooklyn brownstones. But then, you know what the late, great George Michael (the fact that we lost him on Christmas too, is all so heartbreakingly cruel) said about 'Last Christmas', and WHAM! Once this hits you, it will split you in two like the twist of the classic Christmas movie of the same name (starring Emilia Clarke, Henry Golding and Michelle Yeoh) in terrific tribute. Good God, 'Good Grief' is good.

After the most outstanding opening to a Netflix movie since 'The Crown's' very own Vanessa Kirby gave birth to 'Pieces Of A Woman' in our collective heartbreak of 2020, Daniel wakes up to a pure white morning like the cold marble outside in sheets that scrunch like snow. But as he rolls over with the perfect bedhead and iconic spectacles, like a white rose, there's no one there by his side. And if you thought that was too much to take, you haven't read anything yet. Navigating through grief, the great, best British way, there are no hints of Jake Gyllenhaal's 'Demolition' man here. But there are shared shades of Colin Firth's 'A Single Man' in Tom Ford style, when other potential lovers come into this grand design (like the sympathy for Medhi Baki). And one gorgeous gallery scene with the help of Arnaud Valois ('BPM', 'The Girl On The Train') as this Orwellian depression turns to Paris, France and all that chic, truly feels like art. Especially as Levy makes his own under his individual legacy. Moving like Monet in this mediation of grief gone, gorgeous in its remembrance of love. But like The Beatles knew best, you don't get by without a little help from your friends. And 'Yesterday' standout Himesh Patel and the 'Passing' and 'Loving' of Ruth Negga deserve to stand side-by-side and arm-in-arm with Levy for any award that comes this way for the generational great who has left turned into the greatest moment of his career like Eugene did when stopped talking about 'American Pie'. Some may say, like his father's scene -stealing classic cameo in a John Cusack and Kate Beckinsale Christmas love story named after a classic restaurant in New York's Little Italy, that it was all just, 'Serendipity'.

Smokey Robinson once asked, "what's so good about goodbye." And apart from this big picture, nothing. Grief is not good, like a play on Michael Douglas' words off 'Wall Street', but at least it makes us appreciate what we had. So let's all do that, right here, right now. Whilst we still have the chance. Especially as a eulogy from a legendary Michael Bradley and Celia Imrie's inspired speech that will go down in darker romcom history as one of the most iconic lines in the great, albeit underrated genre will truly floor you in a twofer. A 'Booksmart' Kaitlyn Dever sending up the fake, entitled generation of modern day celebrity in this 15 second of TikTok fame, and the original Princess Diana of 'The Crown' Emma Corrin, screaming at the superficial art world will really tickle your funny bone as this one tugs at your heartstrings, but Netflix really have made a great find here. Especially riding along in the same week of Kevin Hart's 'Lift', that although good, doesn't really take us any higher than the usual big-name and budget cash cow formula for the small-screen streaming service that's trying to build its own worlds like Zack Snyder's star warring 'Rebel Moon'. This one finds a much better home for your laptop cinema. Between all the shows and comedy ones, not to mention the prestige pictures, May to December like a Bradley Cooper 'Maestro' as we 'Leave The World Behind' with real born stars. There is real substance to this style. This ride from the Musée de l'Orangerie to the Roue de Paris shows us the good in mourning in this big wheel revelation. As the world keeps turning, so does our memory, and Levy turns his dull ache into the best beat of his heart. TIM DAVID HARVEY.

Further Filming: 'Schitt's Creek', 'Demolition', 'A Single Man'.