New blockbuster drama The Good House has officially hit theaters, giving audiences a glimpse into the life of an older woman who has her life together... Until she doesn't. Star of the film Sigourney Weaver recently sat down with Advocate Today's Tracy E. Gilchrist to discuss generational trauma, and what a story like this means to people struggling with addiction.
The Good House follows Hildy Good (Weaver), a New England real estate broker who rekindles a romance with an old flame from high school (Kevin Kline), igniting long-buried emotions that force Hildy to confront her alcoholism.
As Alcohol Use Disorder runs in her family, Weaver is no stranger to the struggles drinking can bring to addicts and their families.
"I think because of Covid, we all became more involved with alcohol perhaps, and had to take a second look at our relationship to even wine," she says. "I just felt [the movie] was resonating with the people I know."
As Hildy is a woman of a certain age who's worked her entire life to provide for her daughters, Weaver sympathizes with her need to drink. Despite the harm it brings her loved ones, alcohol still offers Hildy respite at the end of the day.
"She's a smart woman, but she's not very smart when it comes to herself," Weaver says. "She's so perceptive about everyone else in the town...but when it comes to her own issues, she can't see. So, she takes it into her confidence, and you can't help but be on her side because she's funny and she's telling the truth -- she's opening her heart to you, and you want her to get whatever solace she can out of the bottle, until things turn around for her. Unfortunately, it's not that simple."
To turn her life around, Hildy's loved ones intervene, though it doesn't go as planned. While Weaver says love is the most important part of healing, she believes self-love is even more crucial. That confidence is something Hildy can only find once she has begun recovery.
"She does fight back, even if she has to keep a protected idea of herself. But I was on her side the entire time, and honestly...even I was like 'oh my god, I'm enabling this woman,'" Weaver shares. "It caught me by surprise, and I think that's very useful, because these things do catch you by surprise...And it can be a very painful journey ahead."
Watch the full interview below, and be sure to catch The Good House in theaters now.
