Recognized for extra lighthearted characters, equivalent to Rachel Inexperienced in Associates or her many rom-coms, Jennifer Aniston typically avoids roles that contact on the extra disturbing features of human nature. Alternatively, The White Lotus is a darkish dramedy that delivers poignant social commentary about materials obsessions and dysfunctional relationships. How do the 2 intersect to create Jennifer Aniston’s darkest film?
Mike White, the creator, author, director, and govt producer of The White Lotus, wrote the script for 2002’s The Good Woman, which starred Jennifer Aniston. Falling consistent with The White Lotus, the Jennifer Aniston-led drama touches on some darkish truths about human nature, giving the actor arguably her saddest and darkest function up to now.
Boredom and Infidelity Paint a Darkish Image of Suburban Life in ‘The Good Woman’
The Good Woman
4
/5
- Launch Date
-
January 12, 2002
- Runtime
-
93 minutes
- Director
-
Miguel Arteta
Justine Final (Jennifer Aniston) lives a boring existence in a small Texas city. She goes to work for the each day grind at a market and returns dwelling to her husband Phil (John C. Reilly), who idles away the times by getting stoned and lounging about. Justine’s boredom leads her to take an curiosity in a younger man working on the similar market, Holden (Jake Gyllenhaal), who identifies with the protagonist of Catcher within the Rye.
The 2 start an emotionally intimate relationship the place Justine feels excited and overwhelmed by Holden’s depth. When her secret is came upon, and he or she is blackmailed into sleeping along with her husband’s good friend to maintain her affair a secret, Holden solely turns into extra obsessive and protecting. Justine finds herself caught between three males in a form of anti-love-triangle, however is pushed to navigate her sense of doing what is true whereas remaining caught in a life managed by males.
Associated
Jennifer Aniston Will get Emotional Reflecting on Associates’ Legacy
Jennifer Aniston remembers a prank she and Matthew Perry performed on Lisa Kudrow the day that Associates premiered.
The outstanding solid will leap out to most individuals, with the indie movie having a number of names that will turn into powerhouses within the trade. Jake Gyllenhaal was nonetheless early in his profession; John C. Reilly had but to search out his present cult success; Jennifer Aniston was discovering success in Associates, however was attempting to department out by showing in just a few smaller productions; and Zooey Deschanel even has a minor function.
The solid right here does an distinctive job of capturing a way of listlessness present in smaller communities that may lead individuals to make public, embarrassing errors. The Good Woman was directed by Miguel Arteta, a good friend of Mike White who directed his scripts for Beatriz at Dinner and Chuck & Buck together with episodes of his nice collection, Enlightened.
‘The Good Woman’ Turns an Affair Right into a Disturbing Story of Remorse and Obsession
The next part accommodates spoilers for The Good WomanFilms about affairs, whether or not a sweeping romance the place a girl finds new worth and an escape from a neglectful husband (or a reversal of husband and spouse in that situation), or a mistake that results in one thing extra ominous, aren’t unusual. But, The Good Woman leans in on such tragic themes that it’s tough to shake a number of the unhappy and genuine portraits of human nature it so brilliantly captures.
Associated
15 Films The place Dishonest Led To Horrible Outcomes
Whereas dishonest in films supplies touching or soul-wrenching conclusions, some simply finish horribly for at the very least one individual within the equation.
Jennifer Aniston’s Justine Final offers with advanced emotions of disconnect from her husband and a brand new, closely flawed romance. Conscious of what her infidelity means, she navigates a hard relationship with Holden, the place she even contemplates poisoning him to keep up the appearance of a traditional relationship along with her husband. Her affair along with her husband’s good friend might be a disgusting flip of occasions for viewers, extra so due to the person’s actions than hers, however she navigates it with a misguided willpower to do the suitable factor. Jake Gyllenhaal’s very good efficiency as Holden will even uncomfortably faucet into recollections for some viewers of coping with unstable, misguided youth in their very own experiences rising up or as adults.
Whereas the journey all through is an unsettling portrait of a damaged suburban family (the archetypal dream), the movie’s climax onward is the place The Good Woman turns into disturbing. Notably, Justine discovering out she is pregnant with out realizing which of the three males is the daddy, places her in a precarious place, determined to make issues proper along with her husband. For his half, John C. Reilly’s Phil embraces the function.
Nonetheless, the manufacturing ends with a lingering sense that Justine’s actions will have an effect on the remainder of their lives and her kid’s life. Sprinkle on just a few different moments of shock, together with Justine revealing Holden’s psychological sickness and disturbing traits to his household, and the ultimate moments of The Good Woman are so deeply tragic that it’s arduous to shake the sensation of discomfort afterward.
Ought to You Watch ‘The Good Woman?’
Those that adore the whole lot Jennifer Aniston does could also be barely at odds with The Good Woman. The function movie is a portrait of a distraught girl who goes by numerous abuse and confusion, each at her palms and the actions of others. The film is much from ‘really feel good.’ Nonetheless, Aniston’s efficiency in The Good Woman is excellent and probably the greatest highlights of her numerous ability set; the supporting solid is equally very good underneath Miguel Arteta’s route. If you’re coming to the function due to Jennifer Aniston, simply be able to count on one thing totally different.
For followers of The White Lotus, The Good Woman ought to vibe with its darkish comedy and contemplative script from Mike White. At its greatest The Good Woman deserves reward for the way it explores advanced characters with a real want to grasp how poorly individuals can act in a selected surroundings and make the improper selections; an ideal companion to the themes inside The White Lotus. Sadly, these fascinated with The Good Woman must do some digging as it’s unavailable to stream or by VOD. The White Lotus is at the moment streaming on Max.