In an exclusive interview, Sigourney Weaver discusses addiction and trauma.
The Good House, a new blockbuster drama, has officially opened in theaters, giving audiences a glimpse into an older woman who has her life together… until she doesn’t. Sigourney Weaver, the film’s star, recently spoke with Advocate Today’s Tracy E. Gilchrist about 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 high school flame (Kevin Kline), resurfacing long-buried feelings that force Hildy to confront her alcoholism.
Weaver is no stranger to the difficulties alcoholism can cause addicts and their families, as it runs in her family.
“I think because of Covid, we all became more involved with alcohol, and we had to reconsider our relationship with even wine,” she says. “I felt like [the film] resonated with people I know.”
Weaver understands Hildy’s desire to drink because she is a woman of a certain age who has worked her entire life to provide for her daughters. Despite the harm it causes her loved ones, alcohol gives Hildy solace at the end of the day.
“She’s a smart woman, but she’s not very smart about herself,” Weaver observes. “She’s so perceptive about everyone else in town…but she can’t see her own problems. So she takes it into her own hands, and you can’t help but root for her because she’s funny and telling the truth — she’s opening her heart to you — and you want her to get whatever solace she can from the bottle until things improve for her. Unfortunately, it is not that easy.”
Hildy’s loved ones step in to help her turn her life around, but things don’t go as planned. While Weaver believes that love is the most important aspect of healing, she believes that self-love is even more critical. Hildy can only find that confidence once she has begun her recovery.
“She fights back, even if she has to keep a safe image of herself. But I was always on her side, and honestly…I was thinking, ‘Oh my god, I’m enabling this woman.’ “Weaver contributes. “It caught me off guard, which is very useful because these things do catch you off guard… And the road ahead may be difficult.”
