The magnificent Sigourney Weaver speaks directly to us in the solid and resonant drama “The Good House,” and I mean that in more ways than one. Weaver delivers a powerhouse performance as Hildy Good, a 60-something real estate agent on Boston’s North Shore who is only starting to acknowledge she’s had a serious drinking problem for most of her adult life, and the work certainly speaks to us. But Hildy herself breaks the fourth wall from time to time to address us directly, whether she’s introducing characters as they arrive on the scene, tossing a sarcastic one-liner our way or making excuses for her alcoholism.
We’ve seen this device in so many films and TV series it’s long past its sell-by date, but when Weaver as Hildy talks to us, she does it in such a casual, offhand manner (with the other characters in the scene remaining oblivious, of course, as if they’re in a stage play) that it’s an effective technique, as we can see how skilled Hildy has become at massaging the truth in order to cover her tracks and excuse her actions. She’s lying to us even as she’s lying to the people in her life.
