Woodall Good

The British movie, Good, with Viggo Mortensen, portrays a highly educated man as he is forced to choose between what is best for himself, for his family and friends, and for his country. It is ingeniously titled Good to emphasize the fact that there is more than one “good” in each situation, and the film focuses on that fact with the inner moral struggle of John Halder. After attempting to hold true to his beliefs and refusing to join the Nazi Party, he acquiesces. Most people see this as the first sign of his corruption, and, as most people (including myself) enjoy watching characters stand up in the proverbial face of adversary and remain steadfast to what they believe is right, I must disagree and boldly say I do not blame him for his decision. Although he is eventually dragged way deeper into the party than he ever planned, I see his choosing to join the party as a necessary evil to avoid something much more serious happening to him or his family. From early on in the movie, we see that he is the glue that holds his family together; he makes dinner, looks after the kids, houses his delusional mother, and provides the sole source of income while his wife aimlessly plays the piano. If he were to be arrested and taken away to a prison camp for simply not joining the Nazi Party, his entire family would fall apart. By joining the party, he is simply just choosing his battles, which I do not blame him for.

As for why the movie was not distributed in the US, I believe it was more of a business decision, but for intellectual reasons. As I said before, all Americans (including myself) enjoy films in which the protagonist gallantly stands up for what he believes in even when everyone is against him or her. That’s why films such as Valkyrie and Inglorious Basterds, which fall into the same Nazi/World War II genre as Good, were received much better in the US. The distributors in Britain realized that many Americans might not relate or agree to the theme of the movie and thus decided not to waste money on distributing the movie in the US.

The picture of Anne and John Halder shows John in the midst of his internal moral struggle. They are at the Nazi ball and he is being introduced to all his fellow party members—a group that he wished to never be a part of. Behind him is Anne, a huge influence on his decision to join the party, as if she is literally pushing him towards the entity he despises so much.