Good (film)
Encyclopedia
Good is a British-German-Hungarian motion picture based on the stage play by C. P. Taylor and starring Viggo Mortensen
, Jason Isaacs
and Jodie Whittaker
. It was directed by Vicente Amorim and was first shown at the Toronto International Film Festival
on 8 September 2008.
. His involvement in the party makes his relationship with his Jewish friend more and more fraught. Finally, Halder finds himself working for Adolf Eichmann
. Under the pretext of work he engineers a visit to a concentration camp where he imagines that he sees his emaciated friend. Seeing inmates arriving and the suffering of those at the camp he realizes what his deeds have accomplished.
in September 1981, with Alan Howard
as John Halder, and transferred to Broadway
in 1982. “I was simply overwhelmed by the play, and knew immediately I would do whatever was necessary to produce the film adaptation”, Segal has stated. In 2003, 22 years after the play's premiere, she finally secured the rights. Her former classmate, Jason Isaacs
, signed on to be one of the film’s executive producers, and Viggo Mortensen
, who had been very impressed by the play when visiting London as a young actor in 1981, agreed to play the lead. The film was shot entirely on location in Budapest
in 2007. The film was poorly received and its release was limited
Viggo Mortensen
Viggo Peter Mortensen, Jr. is a Danish-American actor, poet, musician, photographer and painter. He made his film debut in Peter Weir's 1985 thriller Witness, and subsequently appeared in many notable films of the 1990s, including The Indian Runner , Carlito's Way , Crimson Tide , Daylight , The...
, Jason Isaacs
Jason Isaacs
Jason Isaacs is an English actor born in Liverpool, who is best known for his performance as the villain Lucius Malfoy in the Harry Potter films, the brutal Colonel William Tavington in The Patriot and as lifelong criminal Michael Caffee in the internationally broadcast American television series...
and Jodie Whittaker
Jodie Whittaker
Jodie Auckland Whittaker is an English actress, perhaps best known for her work in the film Venus . She also starred in the ITV1 series Marchlands playing the young Ruth who had lost her daughter Alice.-Career:...
. It was directed by Vicente Amorim and was first shown at the Toronto International Film Festival
Toronto International Film Festival
The Toronto International Film Festival is a publicly-attended film festival held each September in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. In 2010, 339 films from 59 countries were screened at 32 screens in downtown Toronto venues...
on 8 September 2008.
Plot
Good is the story of John Halder (Mortensen), a German literature professor in the 1930s, who is reluctant at first to accept the ideas of the Nazi Party. He is pulled in different emotional directions by his wife, his mother, his mistress (Whittaker) and his Jewish friend (Isaacs). Eventually Halder gives in to Nazism in order to advance his career. He is granted an honorary position in the SS, due to his writings in support of euthanasiaEuthanasia
Euthanasia refers to the practice of intentionally ending a life in order to relieve pain and suffering....
. His involvement in the party makes his relationship with his Jewish friend more and more fraught. Finally, Halder finds himself working for Adolf Eichmann
Adolf Eichmann
Adolf Otto Eichmann was a German Nazi and SS-Obersturmbannführer and one of the major organizers of the Holocaust...
. Under the pretext of work he engineers a visit to a concentration camp where he imagines that he sees his emaciated friend. Seeing inmates arriving and the suffering of those at the camp he realizes what his deeds have accomplished.
Cast
- Viggo MortensenViggo MortensenViggo Peter Mortensen, Jr. is a Danish-American actor, poet, musician, photographer and painter. He made his film debut in Peter Weir's 1985 thriller Witness, and subsequently appeared in many notable films of the 1990s, including The Indian Runner , Carlito's Way , Crimson Tide , Daylight , The...
- John Halder - Jason IsaacsJason IsaacsJason Isaacs is an English actor born in Liverpool, who is best known for his performance as the villain Lucius Malfoy in the Harry Potter films, the brutal Colonel William Tavington in The Patriot and as lifelong criminal Michael Caffee in the internationally broadcast American television series...
- Maurice Israel Glückstein - Jodie WhittakerJodie WhittakerJodie Auckland Whittaker is an English actress, perhaps best known for her work in the film Venus . She also starred in the ITV1 series Marchlands playing the young Ruth who had lost her daughter Alice.-Career:...
- Anne - Steven MackintoshSteven Mackintosh-Personal life:Mackintosh was born in Cambridge, the son of Dorothy and Malcolm Mackintosh. He has a sister, Lynda Ellingham .He is married to the actress Lisa Jacobs and the couple have two children, Martha and Blythe.-Film:...
- Freddie - Mark StrongMark StrongMark Strong is an English actor, with a body of work in both films and television. He has performed in films as varied as Body of Lies, Syriana, The Young Victoria, Sherlock Holmes, RocknRolla, Stardust, and Kick-Ass...
- Philipp BouhlerPhilipp BouhlerPhilipp Bouhler was a senior Nazi Party official who was both a Reichsleiter and Chief of the Chancellery of the Führer of the NSDAP... - Gemma JonesGemma JonesGemma Jones is an English character actress on both stage and screen.-Early life:Jones was born in London, England, the daughter of Irene and Griffith Jones, an actor. Her brother, Nicholas Jones, is also an actor...
- Halder's Mother - Paul BrennanPaul BrennanThe Irish artist is a teacher at Willow Tree Primary School located in West LondonPaul Brennan is a traditional musician from County Down, Northern Ireland who has lived in London for a number of years.Brennan co-founded the Belfast School of Piping...
- Clerk - Steven ElderSteven ElderSteven Elder is an English actor working in film, television and theatre.-Biography:Steven Elder's birth name is Steven William Thomas Lawrence. He was born in the front room of 63 Elder Drive in the coal-mining community of Sunnyside, Rotherham, England. His grandfather, father and five uncles...
- Adolf EichmannAdolf EichmannAdolf Otto Eichmann was a German Nazi and SS-Obersturmbannführer and one of the major organizers of the Holocaust...
Production
Producer Miriam Segal had wanted to turn C. P. Taylor's play into a film ever since she saw it 1981. Good premiered in LondonLondon
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
in September 1981, with Alan Howard
Alan Howard
Alan MacKenzie Howard, CBE, is an English actor known for his roles on stage, television and film.He was a member of the Royal Shakespeare Company from 1966 to 1983, and played leading roles at the Royal National Theatre between 1992 and 2000.-Personal life:Howard is the only son of the actor...
as John Halder, and transferred to Broadway
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
in 1982. “I was simply overwhelmed by the play, and knew immediately I would do whatever was necessary to produce the film adaptation”, Segal has stated. In 2003, 22 years after the play's premiere, she finally secured the rights. Her former classmate, Jason Isaacs
Jason Isaacs
Jason Isaacs is an English actor born in Liverpool, who is best known for his performance as the villain Lucius Malfoy in the Harry Potter films, the brutal Colonel William Tavington in The Patriot and as lifelong criminal Michael Caffee in the internationally broadcast American television series...
, signed on to be one of the film’s executive producers, and Viggo Mortensen
Viggo Mortensen
Viggo Peter Mortensen, Jr. is a Danish-American actor, poet, musician, photographer and painter. He made his film debut in Peter Weir's 1985 thriller Witness, and subsequently appeared in many notable films of the 1990s, including The Indian Runner , Carlito's Way , Crimson Tide , Daylight , The...
, who had been very impressed by the play when visiting London as a young actor in 1981, agreed to play the lead. The film was shot entirely on location in Budapest
Budapest
Budapest is the capital of Hungary. As the largest city of Hungary, it is the country's principal political, cultural, commercial, industrial, and transportation centre. In 2011, Budapest had 1,733,685 inhabitants, down from its 1989 peak of 2,113,645 due to suburbanization. The Budapest Commuter...
in 2007. The film was poorly received and its release was limited