Movie Musings: Four Good Days

 

Anyone who has had to deal with an addiction – their own or a loved one's – will be able to relate to the characters in “Four Good Days.” Anyone who hasn't should consider themselves lucky, and may learn something from the movie.

Glenn Close, who is good in everything she does, plays the mother of Molly (Mila Kunis), a young woman who has been battling a heroin addition for years. We learn later that, like so many others, her addiction started when she was prescribed opioids after an injury. Close's character, Deb, doesn't want to let Molly back into her life when her strung out daughter knocks on her door because Deb's been through the lying, the stealing and, of course, the relapse into drug use so many times before. She does give in, however, and takes Molly to a detox facility.

As Molly is getting discharged, a doctor tells her if she can stay clean for four more days she can get a shot to help her fight her addiction. During those four days we see Molly's struggle. We also meet her children and estranged husband, getting a glimpse of what her life could have been like. We also see her go into a crack house in an effort to rescue a friend, giving us a glimpse of what her life was like just days earlier. Close has so many stand-out moments in the film, but this may be the best as she sees what's happening in the house and realizes that's how her daughter was living.

Mila Kunis is exceptional, and totally believable as an addict at her lowest point, a mother who misses her children, a daughter who just wants to be loved and understood. I don't think I'm exaggerating when I say she is one of the finest – yet underappreciated – actors of her generation.