Be Good (2021) – Review/ Summary (with Spoilers)
Be Good hyper focuses on the experience of having an eating disorder while making its character solely a vehicle for the depiction.
[Unless Said Otherwise] Spoiler Alert: This summary and review contains spoilers.
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| Director(s) | Jessica Damouni |
| Screenplay By | Jessica Damouni |
| Date Released | 10/1/2021 |
| Where Can You Watch? | Film Festival (Urban World) |
| Genre(s) | Drama, Young Adult |
| Duration | 12 Minutes |
| Rating | Not Rated |
Film Summary
Leila has an eating disorder. One that keeps her from socializing and living any resemblance of a normal life.
Things To Note | Question(s) Left Unanswered
- Reason(s) for Film Rating: There are vomiting sounds, so prep for that
Cast & Character Guide
Please Note: This is not an exhaustive list of every cast member.
Leila (Jessica Damouni)
Leila is a young woman who has a serious eating disorder. One that has spiraled to the point her home is filled with post-its that reinforce her illness and her having very little control.
Review/ Commentary
On The Fence
It’s Uncomfortable, In A Good Way, But Feels Excessively Long
What it appears Damouni wanted to do is create intimacy. Not in the form of you really getting to know Leila, but to be a voyeur and see her routine, her flaws, her vulnerability. This is done through seeing her work out, the post-its all over the place, and sometimes her staring straight ahead and building up to the moment you see Leila purge.
But that is the weird, uncomfortable, and perhaps unnecessary thing about this movie. It’s like we’re watching Leila’s life build up to when she decides to vomit and how her cycle works. We don’t get to really know her, beyond she had a tiff with a friend, it is all about her eating disorder.
So it ultimately felt like all Be Good was doing was prepping you for the expected moment when it’s mentioned that a character has an eating disorder. Thus making this movie feel excessively long, for there is nothing there but preparing you for a moment that isn’t made for entertainment purposes but definitely to create a dramatic scene.
Overall
Rating: Mixed (Divisive)
I don’t want to seem mean since, based on the director’s bio for this short, there is a chance this is Damouni’s story and was her life at one time. However, with her writing, directing, starring, producing, and editing, you can see that an outside presence could have helped. I wouldn’t say it was needed, for the point is made about how debilitating an eating disorder can be. But like another short from Urban World, Footsteps On The Wind, this feels more like a commercial for a cause you’ve seen ad nauseam on TV than something new.
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