Directed by:
Stephan RickCinematography:
Stefan CiupekComposer:
Enis RotthoffCast:
Luke Kleintank, Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Bruce Davison, Eloise Smyth, Ieva Florence, Regīna Razuma, Felix RickPlots(1)
A nightmarish evening unfolds for neighbors David and Robert when they accidentally hit a woman on her bike and flee the scene. While David is increasingly plagued by feelings of guilt, Robert shows no remorse and becomes overbearing and possessive. When David meets Vanessa, the victim’s sister, he submits to a reckless passion and underlying sense of redemption before realizing Robert will do unspeakable things to protect their secret (Screen Media Films)
(more)Reviews (2)
Very nice surprise. The Good Neighbor seemed to me like an unremarkable thriller with a simple plot, ordinary actors, ordinary title and poster – well, in short, it was uninteresting – but I am all the more surprised by the honest old school thriller I got. The story revolves around David, who moves to Latvia to start a new life and befriends his neighbor David, who is rumored to be a weirdo. One night they go out for a drink to get to know each other better, but while driving home drunk they hit a woman on her bike, killing her, and a very unpleasant situation in their new town begins. David is a journalist and he gets to handle this case, which I thought was very cool and unconventional. David and Robert have to stick together to keep the truth from coming out and of course there will be obstacles. It's skillfully shot, very suspenseful, there's a pretty solid load of twists and turns, maybe every 20 minutes something interesting happens, sometimes predictable, but with that load I don't mind it at all, sometimes you wish something wouldn't happen and it does! There were even a few dead bodies (no gore but I didn't mind this time), I enjoyed the atmosphere and the whole situation escalates interestingly, and Rhys Meyers plays the weirdo really well. It has a touch of Nordic thrillers, maybe because of the setting in Riga, and I enjoyed it a lot and recommend it. Small but very effective and fun thriller. 75%
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An aspiring B-movie about two friends who accidentally hit a cyclist, their subsequent denial and the gradual escalation of their relationship, where one starts to appear as a psychopath and the other as the "good guy". But the classic plot, the bland script without a better idea, the poor actors, the talky flow and the lack of any kind of build-up or a better finale makes the film just another pointless piece with no reason to watch it. A predictable and uninteresting borefest.
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