Good Mourning Review

Good Mourning is a 2019 short film written and directed by Mark Mohn.

Drenched in all the intensity of a My Chemical Romance album sitting in the back room of a Hot Topic, Good Mourning shows a maturity in Mark Mohn that is at times solid but unraveled by an ending that sways too quickly into a tale of vengeance.

There is nothing subtle about Good Mourning, whether that be in the voiceover, the costuming, or even the scenery shown. There is no question but to feel a sense of sadness and mourning exemplified by our lead character. However, I must give credit for the LGBTQIA+ representation in the film, even if the idea of a character hating men is a bit of a cliched trope in storytelling.

The beginning of the film is strong here though, with locked off, well framed shots, exploring some interesting compositions. It loses that steam just as quickly however once we are transported outside, with a shaking camera. That very strong feeling of a steady frame would have been nice to see throughout, although I understand that asking for smooth dolly style shots in a small indie production such as this is a bit over the top.

If you haven’t seen the film yet I encourage you to do so before I get into the spoiler territory as I do want to discuss the ending. For me anytime you incorporate death into an ending, or really at any point of a story it can sometimes feel cheap. In here I am sad to report that it feels like flawed reasoning by the main character to kill her lover over the jealousy of a man entering the picture. It is not really built up or hinted at, for the sake of the twist ending, which just falls a little flat. Not only that but whenever you bring murder into it, it raises all the questions of where the police are, why is she so nonchalant right now, wouldn’t she be paranoid, etc.

While there are some good notes of interesting stylistic as well as story choices, it all just doesn’t combine into anything outwardly cohesive. This makes for a viewing experience that many will sit down to recounting their overdramatic emo days more than anything else. Now that I think about it, this makes for a great concept for an AFI video that never came to be.

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Cheers!

Daniel Hess

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