GOOD SIDE OF BAD movie poster | ©2025 Freestyle Digital Media

Rating: Not Rated
Stars: Lexi Simonsen, Jules Bruff, Alex Quijano, Myles Grier, Tess Harper
Writers: Ciera Danielle, Jules Bruff & Alethea Root, based on the novel THE GOOD SIDE OF BAD by Beverly Olevin
Director: Alethea Root
Distributor: Freestyle Digital Media
Release Date: January 7, 2025

As we look at a family photograph, Florence (Lexi Simonsen) in voiceover introduces us to everyone – she’s the toddler in yellow, there’s older sister Sara, brother Peter, and mother Mary Ellen.

Florence explains that Mary Ellen was a semi-famous singer who was on the road a lot and “didn’t know how to be a mother, so Sara pretty much raised me.”

We cut to Florence, now about twenty, running in a panic, fleeing pursuit. She is on a bridge and jumps into the river.

In the hospital, Florence tells Sara (played as an adult by Jules Bruff) that she was being chased by hooded men. Sara clearly thinks Florence was hallucinating, but invites her little sister to stay with her.

Florence has some success as a photographer, but it’s unclear how she has been surviving financially. It’s brother Peter (played as an adult by Alex Quijano) who checks in on mom Mary Ellen (played as an older woman by Tess Harper), who has some dementia and a lifelong drinking problem, but is still capable of living alone.

Sara is a teacher, but has to take a lot of time off work to deal with Florence’s multiple crises. Neither Sara nor Peter really knows how to cope. Sara’s dedication is sometimes anguished but dogged; Peter is initially more resentful.

Director Alethea Root, who cowrote the screenplay with Ciera Danielle & actress Bruff, creates a sense of flowing naturalism and intimacy. We can believe this is what we might witness if we happened to be in the room with the characters. They sound (and sometimes keep silent) like real people.

The situations and emotions will be familiar to most viewers who have had to contend with these scenarios in real life. Simonsen, Bruff and Quijano all give understated, potent performances. Harper captures the airy manner of a woman who knows she is losing her faculties but doesn’t want to admit it, and Myles Grier is appealing as Florence’s troubled but kind friend.

GOOD SIDE OF BAD is based on Beverly Olevin’s 2010 novel. Without reading the source material, it’s impossible to say how faithful the film adaptation is. As it is, we could use a few more details, such as how long before the bridge incident Florence has been having problems, why Peter doesn’t seem to have any contacts outside of his siblings and mother, and why Peter and Mary Ellen are both in L.A., while Sara and Florence are in another town that’s an eighteen-hour drive away.

Crucially, we aren’t shown what has changed to make the difference that we see in the climax. Still, there is a sense of authenticity to GOOD SIDE OF BAD. Those who want affirmation of their own experiences or insight into what this is like may benefit from the film.

On the other hand, GOOD SIDE OF BAD is effective enough in its depiction of depression that people currently dealing with their own issues may want to avoid it until they feel better.

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