‘Good Boy’ Review – A Chilling Exploration Of Ultimate Control [LFF 2025]

Tommy (Anson Boon) seems like any 19-year-old who wants to do whatever and whomever he pleases. As a drug-taking, violent bully and oversexed young man with a clear drinking problem, he lives his best life, or at least according to him. Not everyone agrees with him, as he does nothing but cause a big mess for someone else to clean up. So what if we took this rebel without a cause and tried to turn him into someone who can actually contribute to society and make something of his life? Well, that’s precisely where the idea for Bartek Bartosik and Naqqash Khalid’s (In Camera) script, and eventually also Jan Komasa’s (Corpus Christi) latest movie, grew from.

What starts as a raging bender for Tommy will soon become a film about the nature of control and the thin line between redemption and destruction when he wakes up in a cold, dark basement with a metal collar around his neck. Captured by the gentle (or not so gentle, if you’re not doing what you’re being told) husband and father, Chris (Stephen Graham), who wants to reform him. Living with Chris in that Gothic-themed countryside estate harbouring many secrets are his depressed wife, Kathryn (Andrea Riseborough), whose silence speaks louder than the dialogue, their sheltered son, Jonathan (Kit Rakusen), and, eventually, their maid, Rina (Monika Frajczyk). While the latter adds the necessary humanness to the feature, it’s the father-mother-son trio that’s the centre of this movie, and they make for such a psychotic and intriguing family.

That’s mainly because Riseborough (Lee) and Graham (Blitz) show again that they’re the crème de la crème of British cinema, while getting an incredibly mature performance by Rakusen (Belfast) as their on-screen son. They both portray chillingly the creepy characters and show the dark secrets and the distance that has come between them very eerily. Riseborough is the pale, phantom-like woman whose material instincts are disturbingly fully awakened when Tommy arrives. Kathryn’s presence in the house becomes much more tangible, and Riseborough’s acting even more compelling. With haunting stillness, she conveys the many hidden traumas her character faces, commanding your full attention. Just one look at Riseborough takes you through the entire spectrum of emotions. Graham delivers a masterclass in manipulative yet restrained control. Don’t let his upper-class attire and friendly face fool you; absolute rigidity and threat lurk just below that kind surface.

And what more is lurking in those shadows that clearly have something dark to hide? While Good Boy could have easily been another torture-horror film, with all the elements in place, including the always-clanking chain, the filmmaker takes a totally different path. He instead explores dark psychological mind games and the potentially life-altering effects of long-term captivity.

The way he spins the web of secrets, lies, mystery, and surprises while discovering those effects will keep you on your toes the entire time. At first, you feel an immense dislike for Tommy when you are shown the despicable things he has done, which he proudly shared on his social media. He’s the stereotypical troubled youth and ruthless young man who might not deserve your compassion. However, when his rebellious side is tamed and he gains more freedom from the family that put the chain around his neck in the first place, you might start to question which side you’re on.

That complex relationship between the captors and the captive comes to life not only through the great performances but also through Michal Dymek’s (The Girl with the Needle) ultra-detailed, precisely planned cinematography. What starts as an unruly young man, guided by vibrant visuals, turns into a submissive and captured subject, with the camera looking down on him, all the way into someone who has now become a true family member (or maybe not entirely so). Boon intricately portrays all these changes in the complex character. He strikes the perfect balance between cockiness, chaos, gentleness, and subtle emotions.

Whether you find yourself in the darkness of the abyss of morality that’s the basement or on the prim, proper, and almost over-the-top lighted upstairs that form an excellent contrast with each other, you’ll never be able to escape the eeriness of the script and the unsurprisingly absorbing performances. What emerges from all this obscurity (and beauty, too) is a chilling exploration of ultimate control.

Good Boy is part of the BFI London Film Festival 2025 courtesy of HanWay Films. No US release date yet.

Good Boy is part of the Dare section at the BFI London Film Festival 2025.

Director: Jan Komasa

Writers: Bartek Bartosik, Naqqash Khalid

Rated: NR

Runtime: 110m