Heartfelt Netflix dramedy Good Grief is written, produced, and directed by Dan Levy who also plays the part of Marc in the film. It follows the story of Marc coping with the loss of his mother and then his vivacious and larger-than-life partner Oliver, and ending up with his besties on a holiday in Paris. Luca, a native of Berlin, has a key to Oliver’s secret apartment, and his arrival opens some old wounds.
Good Grief’s Luca Explained
Luca has a small but quite pivotal role within the narrative of Good Grief. The character appears at the apartment and introduces himself, leading to the revelation that Oliver had given the key to Luca who was the recipient of a scholarship that had been set up by the now deceased Oliver. As a result of that situation, he had grown closer to Oliver leading to a clandestine relationship.
Luca’s appearance leads to Marc trying to explain to his friends how he feels. Marc asks Luca to leave, but Luca has nowhere to stay and explains that Oliver met him after he watched him dance at a show. Luca is allowed to stay, despite the initial hostility from Marc. An emotional dinner sees the group toasting to “the pain” before going on a trip to the Ferris wheel and sharing their thoughts on previous relationships. Marc then visits Theo before having a final conversation with Luca, where he reveals he took Oliver’s Christmas present to Luca back to the shop. Luca explains that Oliver didn’t plan on leaving Marc, and they part amicably.
Back in London, Marc decides to sell the house and a year later we see he has returned to painting.
Was Oliver having an affair with Luca?
Marc and Oliver were in an open relationship, although it’s implied that Marc only agreed to this out of fear of losing Oliver by not allowing him to live the life he wanted. However, they were technically allowed to have sexual partners outside of the marriage, so Oliver was — again, technically — not cheating on Marc by having a sexual relationship with Luca.
However, before his death, Oliver had sent Marc a Christmas card explaining that he had met someone else and wanted to explore the relationship, and wanted to have a conversation with Marc about it. This is outside of the “rules” of their open relationship agreement, which is why Marc is distressed by the secrecy surrounding Oliver’s relationship with Luca. When Marc discovered the existence of the Parisian property and learned that Oliver’s expenditure there accounted for two people, he expected to encounter Luca there to confront him about the perceived affair. This is why Luca’s revelation that Oliver had no intention of leaving Marc is an important step in the healing process for him.
Who plays Luca in Good Grief?
The part of Luca is played by the French actor and dancer Medhi Baki.
What else is Mehdi Baki known for?
Mehdi is a professional dancer so a lot of his early work would be in music videos and short-form films. In 2013 he appeared in an imaginative dance-based feature called Borderline. In 2018 he would appear in another film with dance at its core, called Little Tickles.
In 2020 he would have a role in the music and dance project called Ohho. In 2022, he would be seen in another dance-based feature called Rise, and in 2023, the dancer would find himself in the musical feature Rone: L(oo)ping. That gets you up to speed, with Good Grief released in December of 2023.
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