‘Good Grief’ writer, producer and director Dan Levy recently opened up about the focus of his new film, which traces back to the sudden passing of his grandmother during the pandemic.
“The suddenness of her death came as a shock to us all, but it wasn’t until a few months had passed that I really began to feel the void of her absence. I wondered why it took so long to hit me,” he told PinkNews.
He continued,
“As a writer, if I don’t feel it physically, I have to put it somewhere. I think I wrote that into the movie. Where does it go if not into art?”
‘Good Grief’ follows Levy’s character Marc as he struggles with grief after the sudden death of his husband Oliver, who is portrayed by Luke Evans. “Marc’s world shatters, sending him and his two best friends, Sophie (Ruth Negga) and Thomas (Himesh Patel), on a soul-searching trip to Paris that reveals some hard truths they each needed to face,” the film’s official synopsis reads.
Sophie is described as Marc’s “boisterous yet commitment-phobic” best friend, while Thomas is his ex-boyfriend who is “still healing from their failed relationship.” In the same interview, Levy also talked about relationships, which is another focus in ‘Good Grief’.
“I have been single for quite some time but I have friends who jump from relationship to relationship to relationship. As a single person, I have my own examination to do in terms of why that’s the case, but I look at [others] and think: ‘This person [has] never had a moment alone’. To me, that was a compelling place to start,” the 40-year-old Canadian actor and filmmaker stated.
Moreover, he also shared about developing intimacy with on-screen husband and friends Evans, Negga and Patel by going on a weekend trip to a farmhouse in Oxfordshire prior to filming on set. According to Levy,
“I thought it was important that we have that intimacy before we started because you can feel it. Often, actors aren’t afforded that kind of time. Sometimes you just walk on set, and it’s like: ‘Well, this is the person playing my husband, nice to meet you’.”
“I look back on those days so fondly,” the ‘Schitt’s Creek’ star added, further revealing that he has kept in touch with his ‘Good Grief’ co-stars.
‘Good Grief’ is set to premiere on Netflix on January 5. In the meantime, you can watch the emotional official trailer here:
Source: thepinknews.com
It was an excellent film
Happy New Year, hope I can receive instinct magazine in the Mail.
It’s a poignant story of love and loss with a gay lens.