It’s been six years since Zach Braff’s last directing job, go in styleand nearly a decade since his last film as a writer-director, i wish i was hereso it’s time for him to make his comeback.
Heaven Original Movie A good person stars Florence Pugh as Allison, a young woman whose world falls apart when she survives a car accident that kills her soon-to-be sister-in-law.
Recovering from an opiate addiction, Allison forms an unlikely friendship with her father-in-law Daniel (Morgan Freeman) that gives her a chance to rebuild her life and overcome her pain.
Writing the film during the pandemic allowed Braff to work through his own grief for the people he lost, and releasing the film has continued to help.
“I think sharing the film and seeing people relate to it and respond to it has been a really good feeling. Seeing people see themselves in the film and empathize with how I felt. The community feels really cathartic and wonderful.” he says digital spy.
Before A good personTheatrical release March 24, digital spy sat down with Zach Braff to talk about working with Florence Pugh as a producer, meeting with Morgan Freeman, and the mini movie scrubs meeting.
This is your third time writing a feature film, do you think the Zach from garden state could have written A good person?
Zach Braff: No, because I was very young when I wrote garden state. He was 25 years old and he was writing about what I felt at that moment, then as a young man, feeling of [being] Lost and not knowing what to do with my life.
This is a very different time in my life. It’s about grief and picking yourself up after tragedy, so it was inspired by things I went through and had yet to really experience when I was young.
You’ve talked about how you wrote this movie for Florence and she came on board as a producer. Did that change the movie in any surprising way for you?
Oh yeah, because Florence had very, very clever script notes. She wrote two songs that the character performs in the film. She is a wise actress. She really came in handy at the casting.
When I was deciding between two or three people, she would come in and say, ‘It’s so clear that that person’ because she has such an eye for acting talent. In many ways Florence the producer was extraordinarily helpful.
You’ve worked with Morgan Freeman before, did that help you? Was it just about calling him on the phone and saying, ‘Hey Morgan, do you want to do another movie?’
[laughs] No, it wasn’t like that. But I didn’t think I’d say yes because the first thing we did was a big studio comedy and this was a little indie movie and Morgan doesn’t do a lot of those so I didn’t know he would. say yes.
He did help direct it because we already had a friendship, we already joked. He’s intimidating, I mean, he’s Morgan Freeman. So, I think I had a comfort level with him that I wouldn’t have had.
We already had a relationship. He already trusted me from the previous movie, so I think he allowed me to push him further in a way that he might not have had the courage to if it was our first project.
He does a voiceover in the movie, was that already in the script or were you like, ‘I’ve got Morgan on board, I need a voiceover’?
[laughs] It was actually in the script, but it’s funny when Morgan comes along, the voiceover takes a whole other level.
there is a mini scrubs reunion because you have Molly Shannon playing Florence’s mother who was in ‘My Last Chance’, who you didn’t work with directly…
I did direct that episode though. Molly is primarily known as a comedy actress. she was one of the best snl stars never.
It’s actually the first episode of scrubs I ever directed She was the guest star and as a guest star, she only did comedy but had a dramatic arc. I knew when I cast her that Molly is not only hilarious, but she has some pretty amazing dramatic chops.
It’s an innately human thing to find humor even in the darkest moments and as scrubs made very often, this film also has the humor among the darker moments. Is it difficult to find that balance?
It’s all in the script. I think it’s crucial because otherwise I find, as a moviegoer, that if it’s too maudlin, you tune out. It’s too much to digest. Whereas if you add humor, the audience is relieved and I think that’s really important.
Just like in life, when you are going through a very difficult time and a friend or family member says something funny and you are so thankful for the laugh and you really needed it.
I think that’s an important thing to do when writing about material in this way as well.
Darling
We’ve already touched on it a bit, but what do you hope the public gets out of it? A good person?
I hope they see something of their own lives in it. This is a particularly intense tragedy. Hopefully most people haven’t experienced something like this, but I hope you see something in your own life, picking yourself up after a really tough time.
I mean, even something as universal as COVID, going through this horrible time and going backwards and starting a new chapter. I hope people see themselves in that.
A good person opens in theaters on March 24 and is available to watch on Sky Cinema from April 28.
The best entertainment and technology offers
