A Good Person (2033), directed by Zach Braff

Allison is a successful pharmaceutical sales rep and talented musician, blissfully engaged to Nathan. The couple aspires to move into New York from rural New Jersey, for a more cosmopolitan lifestyle far away from their troubled childhoods. A moment’s inattention while driving causes a terrible crash with fatal consequences, sending Allison into a spiral of self-loathing and addiction. Told in a linear fashion, the film takes a while to set up the story and it all gets rather grim before a glimmer of hope shines through to make a new start seem possible. Director Zach Braff also wrote the film and he makes it crystal clear that this is the kind of thing that could happen to anyone. He shows that that resilience, redemption and recovery are not just a matter of personal strength, but also of background, support and circumstance. Florence Pugh is so good as Allison and Morgan Freeman is great as Nathan’s estranged father Daniel, a man who must find a way to both forgive and complete his own redemption. The film is not without flaws, but it is a thoughtful and moving vehicle for Pugh to demonstrate her A-list credentials.