Good One (2024)
…………………………………………………
Good One Movie Review
Good One is a 2024 independent drama film directed by India Donaldson and starring Lily Collias. It’s such a slight indie film.
During a weekend backpacking trip in the Catskills, 17-year-old Sam navigates the clash of egos between her father and his oldest friend. Upon reading the reviews for this movie, you’d think that this is a masterful take on toxic friendships that have run its course and a girl finding herself and having to confront the pitfalls that plague her dynamics with these two men. But watching it, it’s nothing of the sort. In fact, it’s quite simple in its thematic elements and not really saying anything of substance at any moment.
………………………………………………….
…………………………………………………..
I would have been more in favor of this movie had it stayed in the same lane of doing the fraught friendship story. But of course India Donaldson is a female director, so she had to conclude a really boring and annoying element of creepy sexual dynamics thrown in just for the sake of it. Not only did it seem quite unrealistic that this man would hit on this girl when her father is right there, but it was even more implausible that the father would not be angry with him afterward. It was all just prolonged drama for the sake of it, losing points for realism in the process.
I realize that the central character is supposed to be less talkative and more introspective and at times it was interesting seeing her annoyed expressions while listening what the two were talking about, but through that approach she ended up being underdeveloped and just a non-character. The two men fared even worse as both were unlikable and annoying without ever being humanized or made made to be more complex.
Good One has the added hiking element to the story that otherwise did not need it. This did make it feel more beautiful to watch and more cinematic, but ultimately the setting should have been utilized into the story much more. This is a typical indie feature debut that lacks a strong directorial style or purpose and is very much just a bunch of ideas thrown in with no discernible plot thread or meaning to any of it.
………………………………………………….
…………………………………………………..
Good One is a very slight indie drama that should not rank among the best directorial debut features anywhere. This is because the filmmaker failed to imbue this thin story with any substance, strong characterization or purpose. The nature setting was also not utilized properly. It had some interesting themes, but not nearly enough to make it seem worthy of a feature film treatment. Some of the subtle dialogue and observations were intriguing, but the characters felt hollow and the drama in the third act seemed to be thrown in just for the sake of it.
My Rating – 3
Results
