Four Good Days, starring Mila Kunis and Glenn Close and is based on the reporting of Washington Post national reporter Eli Saslow, tells the story of a young addict who must not use drugs for four days to receive a promising treatment. In one scene shot in a garage, Kunis struggles to credibly deliver common lines. Glenn Close, left, and Mila Kunis star in "Four Good Days," based on a true story by Pulitzer Prize winner Eli Saslow. The website's critics consensus reads: "Four Good Days struggles to bring authenticity to its tragic source material and strands its talent in a bland melodrama. How Playwright Sam Hunter Processed His Own Trauma, Who Plays Kam Evans on 'Sex/Life' Season 2? Vertical Entertainment/Tribune News Service. Despite all she has learned over a decade of disappointment, grief and rage, Deb throws herself into one last attempt to save her beloved daughter from the . Mila Kunis looks nearly unrecognizable in what may be her most dramatic, heartbreaking role yet. A RottenTomatoes.com Tomatometer-approved critic, Jonathan W. Hickman, is also an entertainment lawyer, college professor, novelist, and filmmaker. "Four Good Days" is based on a true story by Pulitzer Prize-winning Washington Post writer Eli Saslow. The film first debuted at Sundance last winter, and its finally getting a widespread release when it hits theaters next month. Yes, Four Good Days is based on a true story. MUST CREDIT: Photo by Bonnie Jo Mount-The Washington Post Photo Gallery. R.At area theaters. Free shipping for many products! In Saslow's article, a Michigan mother, Libby, wrestled . Amanda had to stay clean for two weeks and pass a drug test before this would happen. 2020 | Maturity Rating: 15+ | US Movies. "Four Good Days" is based on a 2016 Washington Post news story entitled "How's Amanda?" written by Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Eli Saslow. Its a dubious distinction that she shares with another iconic talent, the late Peter OToole. 2023 NYP Holdings, Inc. All rights reserved, Reese Witherspoon Reveals What Mila Kunis Said About Her Photos With Ashton Kutcher on 'The Drew Barrymore Show': "You Guys Look so Awkward", Stream It Or Skip It: 'That '90s Show' On Netflix, Where A New Generation Of Teens Get Stoned In Kitty And Red's Basement, 'That '90s Show' Reveals What Happened To The Ill-Fated Jackie-Fez Romance, Where to Stream That '70s Show Before Watching That '90s Show on Netflix, Will There Be A 'Sex/Life' Season 3 on Netflix? Based on Eli Saslow's Washington Post article . 4,441, This story has been shared 3,922 times. Hes a member of the Atlanta Film Critics Circle, The Southeastern Film Critics Association, and the Georgia Film Critics Association. 703, Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window), Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window), Click to share on WhatsApp (Opens in new window), Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window). But isFour Good Days about one familys struggle, or is it pulled from years of stories and experiences from across the U.S.? Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania: Honey, I Shrunk the MCU! Mollys mother, Deb, sometimes doesnt want to love her daughter after feeling betrayed time and again. Eli Saslow is a Pulitzer Prize winning journalist for The Washington Post. Even Close has done this kind of thing before, just last year, in the much-maligned Hillbilly Elegy.. All rights reserved. Perhaps things would have turned out differently, but more than likely not. It has a been there, seen and heard that quality. Following 15 failed attempts, reconciliation with her mother seems like a farfetched thought. Theres only one catch: Molly cant start taking it until her system is completely free of all the substances shes been abusing. The film follows the emotional journey of 31-year-old Margaret Molly Wheeler (Mila Kunis). On Rotten Tomatoes, the film review aggregator, it holds an approval rating of just 51 percent based on 74 Top Critics. A New York Post reviewer terms the story well worn, while another from the Tribune News complains that the films ending offered more questions than answers. Genres. And the way that doctors have been taught to prescribe for pain drove a lot of the opioid epidemic. Having been through countless experiences of this character with her daughter over the previous decade, the older woman coldly refuses to allow Molly inside the house, The deal was you would not come back until you were clean. Deb shuts the door on a still protesting Molly. If you did not receive your newspaper on Thursday and Monday after your mail is delivered, we will issue a credit to your account or mail another copy. I would be lying.. The new trailer features a very emotional performance from theBlack Swanactress as she fights against withdrawal symptoms and comes face to face with all the things that her addiction has taken from her, including the trust of her parents and custody of her children. And while hers is one of the few stories that received much attention, there are many people out there who are going through a similar situation. signing up for national breaking news email alerts. 2023 E! Like the story that inspired it, this movie focuses on the uncertain relationship between a mother named Deb (Close) and her heroin-addicted daughter, Molly (Mila Kunis). Four days after commencing detox, she is offered an opioid antagonist in order to help her on the road to sobriety. She cant enjoy 15 minutes of downtime, we learn, because Molly could be looking for cash to buy a fix. Since we're still making sure all of the bugs are worked out, the site is currently free to all visitors. However, she felt that it was a part of her responsibility as a mother to be there for her daughter. With no apparent prospects for the future, especially when it came to education, she wrote that boredom, loneliness, anxiety, regret, (and) shame were some of the reasons for her relapse. Before you watch Four Good Days, heres what you need to know about the true story behind the emotional drama. . What We Know, The 8 Best Soundbars To Buy In 2023, Per Experts, Chris Rock Jokes About Watching Emancipation to See Will Smith Getting Whipped In Advance of Netflix Special: Report. Once shes convinced that Molly is devoted to getting clean, Deb helps her abstain from heroin prior to receiving an injection that will prevent Molly from feeling the effects of illegal drugs. Were seeing some changes now and I think part of that is because we talk about addiction as the real medical problem that it is rather than as a personal weakness or a societal ill. (Video: Washington Post Live). What sets Four Good Days apart from the many other films of its ilk are Close and Kunis, who sharpen and elevate its well-worn contours with vivid performances that are honest and grounded. Three Great Things is Talkhouse's series in which artists tell us about three things they absolutely love. Four Good Days. Triangle of Sadness Ending Explained: Does Abigail Kill Yaya? Downloads only available on ad-free plans. She hurt her knee and was prescribed 75 oxycontin and never had a refill denied. That tidal pull Deb feels part love, part mistrust, part guilt is palpable, as palpable as the hunger of the monkey on Mollys back. 3,922, This story has been shared 2,381 times. Four Good Daysstars Mila Kunis, Glenn Close, and Stephen Root. 'The Mandalorian' Season 3 Episode Guide: How Many Episodes of 'Mandalorian' Will There Be on Disney+? So far, there is no book thats directly related toFour Good Days. However, the mass upsurge in opioid addiction points toward a broader cause, the coalescence of many ills hammering at peoples livesinequality, poverty, low wages, unemployment, homelessness and a general lack of confidence in the future that afflicts a considerable section of the population. Four days left to go, three days, two, and as the hours . Filed Under: Flickering Myth TV, Interviews, Martin Carr, Movies Tagged With: Eli Saslow, Four Good Days, Glenn Close, Mila Kunis. Her mother Deb (Glenn Close) has changed the locks to prevent Molly from coming in and robbing heragainto buy drugs. On the second day, Sean, Molly's ex, allows her to see their children. By Eli Saslow, The Washington Post. Molly's mother, Deb, sometimes doesn't want to love her daughter after feeling betrayed time and again. Directed by Rodrigo Garca; screenplay by Garca and Eli Saslow, Four Good Days is a sensitive, honest film about the devastating impact of the opioid epidemic on families throughout the US. What if Deb had remained in her unhappy marriage? Four Good Days is a 2020 American drama film, directed and produced by Rodrigo Garca, from a screenplay by Garca and Eli Saslow, based upon Saslow's 2016 Washington Post article "How's Amanda? Root is very good as Debs second husband, and he has one of the films best scenes, uncomfortably mansplaining Debs inner torment. In the end, Deb calmly tells her daughter, I am so sorry for causing you so much pain. It hurts where it should, yet lands with a touch of hope. Four Good Days grapples constantly with the question of responsibility. She has two kids who live with their father. Mila Kunis, Actor, Four Good Days, Rodrigo Garca, Director, Four Good Days and Eli Saslow, National Reporter, The Washington Post join Washington Post Live (Video: The Washington Post), I had maybe eight-months to lose weight to look like a heroin addict. Even the dialogue may evoke dj vu. However, a mother never loses hope in her offsprings. On Monday morning, Molly arrives at the house urging Deb to get ready so they will not miss her appointment at the detox facility. The lead comment from Rotten Tomatoes Top Critics, by Indiewires Ryan Lattanzio, laments the fact that the film did not sufficiently vilify Mollys mother: Perhaps the most fascinating aspect of this shallow movie is left unexplored: why doesnt Deb look in the mirror at her role in Mollys addiction?. A Story of Truth, Lies, and an American Addiction, that appeared in the Washington Post on July 23, 2016. Amanda, whose experience the film is based on, has seen her fair share of pain in life. Ever since the first trailer dropped for Four Good Days,interest has been steadily bubbling up around the stirring addiction drama, which stars Mila Kunis as Molly, a recovering addict who moves in with her mom, Deb (Glenn Close), to try and stay clean. Deb, although clearly ambivalent about the matter, stands resolute with the support of her husband Chris, fearing that aiding Molly in any way will serve as being an enabler. Saslow co-wrote the movie's screenplay with director Rodrigo Garca. Fans Fuming Over Mayim Bialik and Ken Jennings' Hosting Schedules: "I Want Ken Full-Time". : ; : Eli Saslow,Rodrigo Garca,Amanda Wendler; : . She said that the feelings of being a mother and the desire for the safety of a child became the most important aspect of her understanding. Afterwards, Molly asks that Deb take her to see Sammy, a friend and fellow addict. Contrary to the complaints of the critics, perhaps the greatest strength of Four Good Days is its nuanced and compassionate attitude toward all its characters. Rotten Tomatoes Audience Score registers an 81 percent approval rating. One scene will remind you of her turn in last years Hillbilly Elegy. And thats not a good thing. Co-written and directed by Rodrigo Garca, Four Good Days is based on a true story written for the Washington Post by Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Eli Saslow. This article was published more than1 year ago, Anyone who saw the movie Beautiful Boy the fact-based 2018 addiction drama starring Steve Carell and Timothe Chalamet as a father and son struggling with the younger mans drug dependency will already be familiar with the narrative rhythms of the similarly themed Four Good Days. Much like Felix Van Groeningens movie, based on dueling addiction memoirs by Nic Sheff and his father, journalist David Sheff, Four Good Days tells a lightly fictionalized version of a harrowing true story, first presented by Washington Post reporter Eli Saslow in his powerful 2016 article about a Michigan mothers efforts to help her adult daughter kick heroin. [6], On April 23, 2021, "Somehow You Do", the lead single from the movie's soundtrack, was released. Addiction opens a dark and grim path that can break down the person piece by piece over a period of time. The film ends with a line about the real-life mother and daughter who inspired the film, Amanda Wendler (Molly) and Libby Alexander (Deb). A Story of Truth, Lies and an American Addiction.. She and Deb go grocery shopping, where they see Coach Miller, who invites Molly to speak to her class about drug addiction. Of interest will be the casting, which includes the ubiquitous Stephen Root in a completely straight-man role. Hows Amanda? As the film gets underway, Deb is agreeing, despite her best instincts and resolve, to again take Molly in, although shes not yet clean. Close, inhabiting the guilt-ridden mother, repeatedly demands, loudly and unpleasantly, that a doctor immediately see her daughter. Lies, pleading, desperate promises and relapse are among the patterns of behavior on the part of Mila Kuniss addict Molly; with repeated capitulation, followed by zero tolerance, and then more capitulation on the part of Glenn Closes weary but still caring mother Deb. Post chief film critic Ann Hornaday will lead the discussion on Monday, May 24 at 5:00pm ET. You can find the article that inspiredFour Good Dayson The Washington Post website. [4] Stephen Root was cast in September, with filming beginning later that month in Los Angeles.