Movie review
March 6, 2026 · 110 min · R
Woke Score
Lower is better
Not currently streaming in United States
Review
Good Boy is a dark and twisted psychological thriller about a wild 19-year-old delinquent named Tommy. After a night of heavy drinking, he is kidnapped by a polite, middle-class couple who chain him in their basement. They try to reform his bad behavior through extreme mental games and forced isolation. The film does not contain any obvious woke elements, identity-driven lectures, or forced diversity. Instead, it is a weird and unsettling story about control, family trauma, and Stockholm syndrome.
Breakdown
These are the editorial factors and ratings behind our score for Good Boy.
Woke representation / casting
Tommy's girlfriend, Gabby, is played by mixed-race actress Savannah Steyn, representing the only visible diversity in the main cast. This casting is incidental and serves the story naturally, without any activist, identity-driven, or quota-style representation framing. The rest of the central cast is entirely white, and there is no emphasis on diversity signaling or DEI-driven character logic.
Woke political dialogue
The dialogue is completely devoid of modern progressive talking points, identity politics, or social justice lecturing. Instead, the dialogue focuses on classic themes of discipline, morality, behavioral reform, and the psychological push-and-pull between Tommy and his captors. There are no activist statements or left-leaning political rants.
Identity-driven story themes
The film does not explore modern identity-driven politics like intersectionality, gender theory, or racial oppression. It focuses instead on the psychological trauma of a dysfunctional family and a delinquent teenager. While some critics analyze Tommy's bad behavior through the lens of modern 'toxic masculinity', the film treats his actions as standard antisocial delinquency rather than an ideological critique of gender.
Western institutional / cultural critique
The movie features a traditional, polite middle-class family who turn out to be dangerously controlling and twisted kidnappers. While this setup parodies strict traditional authority and rigid parental control, it does so through an absurdist, psychological thriller framework rather than a modern activist lecture. The film focuses on the psychological effects of Stockholm syndrome rather than systemic critiques of Western culture, capitalism, or patriotism.
Woke character or canon changes
Not relevant. The film is an original screenplay written by Bartek Bartosik and Naqqash Khalid. It is not an adaptation of existing legacy material, a remake, or a retelling of historical events, meaning there are no character or canon changes to evaluate.
Anti-woke backlash and complaints
There has been no notable anti-woke backlash, social media campaigns, or conservative complaints targeting the film. Public discussions, reviews, and community threads focus entirely on its psychological themes, the dark premise, and the ambiguous ending, with no accusations of political or ideological bias.
Creator track record context
The key creative team has a mostly moderate to low-woke track record. Director Jan Komasa and writer Bartek Bartosik are known for exploring human struggle and social justice themes, but generally avoid overt modern activist framing. While producer Caroline Cooper Charles heavily champions industry DEI initiatives, the remaining producers and writers maintain very low or zero woke scores, keeping the overall creative context largely neutral.
Production
