The far superior “kidnap a child and keep them captive in a basement until they are rehabilitated” entry of TIFF’s 50th edition (basements and “teaching a lesson” have oddly been a theme this year), Good Boy marks Oscar nominated director Jan Komasa’s pivot into English language filmmaking (technically his second English feature since his upcoming Anniversary was filmed first but will be released later). The project was sparked by Jerzy Skolimowski (EO), who approached Komasa after the success of Corpus Christi, thinking of him as the right person to bring his talents to life. Komasa, seeing the potential of such a project for wider audiences, suggested an English translation, cast Stephen Graham and Andrea Riseborough, while still bringing a very Polish crew with him: DP Michał Dymek, editor Agnieszka Glińska, and composer Abel Korzeniowski. Their collaboration fuses a traditional thriller idiom and well known faces with the claustrophobic and naturalistic sensibility of Polish cinema, making it accessible while bringing some of its strengths to the mix.
We first meet nineteen year old Tommy (Anson Boon), a troublemaker who spends his nights in clubs and house raves, running with his own gang and showing no sign of discipline through a chaotic montage where we quickly understand what his life is about. After a party that runs longer than usual, he finds himself in a car crash and later wakes chained in a suburban basement, where Chris (Stephen Graham) and Kathryn (Andrea Riseborough) intend to “treat” him into becoming the good boy they believe he could be. The couple’s motives tie back to their family: they are raising a young son, Jonathan, but still grieving the loss of an older boy. From here the film mostly stays in this house, unfolding as a tense chamber piece of escape attempts and psychological duels.
The greatest pleasure of the film comes from watching these characters, and what they represent, clash. Graham and Riseborough, arguably two of the absolute best actors working today, keep it interesting and intriguing the whole way through. Graham, playing on the opposite spectrum of his Adolescence performance, shapes Chris with a physicality that recalls Javier Bardem, alternating between menace and paternal calm. Riseborough begins nearly mute, crushed by grief, then slowly shows signs of life as the “treatment” starts to seem effective. However it is Anson Boon who becomes the revelation, as the whole film rests on how well he portrays Tommy as equally reckless and chaotic while also showing traits of a fragile and wounded young man. He strikes the perfect balance in that duality. The rest of the supporting cast operate at the same level.
The film is expertly paced, with Komasa building tension through claustrophobic staging and careful rhythms, and the script steadily escalating into pulse quickening close calls that put us at the edge of our seats, while developing each character with admirable precision. That precision becomes the film’s biggest achievement as it generates empathy for all sides, leaving us conflicted about where to place our loyalties.
When it comes to its bigger ideas, such as generational differences, the perceived victimhood of today’s youth, and the efficiency of authoritarian “treatments,” the film only scratches the surface. Comparisons to A Clockwork Orange have surfaced, but viewers should not expect anything close to that, nor to the conversations sparked by Adolescence earlier in the year. Without sharper discussion, the ending plays more as a hopeful gesture than a definitive conclusion, fitting for the project and consistent with its intent. What helps is that its point of view never feels misguided in the way another TIFF entry on similar ground did, since the couple here are not portrayed in simple black and white as “the right ones.”
Still, Good Boy holds up as an entertaining thriller. It may not leave you with insights or heavy reflection, but it offers well paced tension, sharp performances, and the kind of near escapes that make you lean forward and hold your breath. In that respect, it succeeds as both effective genre cinema and a promising English language showcase for Komasa.
This is part of Reviews On Reels TIFF 2025 Coverage. Due to the hectic rhythm of a film festival, it may be tweaked in the future.
Still courtesy of TIFF.