In India Donaldson's insightful, piercing debut, 17-year-old Sam (Lily Collias) embarks on a three-day backpacking trip in the Catskills with her dad, Chris (James Le Gros) and his oldest friend, Matt (Danny McCarthy). As the two men quickly settle into a gently quarrelsome brotherly dynamic, airing long-held grievances, Sam, wise beyond her years, attempts to mediate. But when lines are crossed and Sam's trust is betrayed, tensions reach a fever pitch, as Sam struggles with her dad's emotional limitations and experiences the universal moment when the parental bond is tested. Selected in both Sundance and Cannes' Directors' Fortnight, Good One is an emotionally expansive work that probes the limits of familial trust, understanding, and ultimately, forgiveness.
What the critics are saying:
"A quiet yet powerful film about learning how you want to be in the
world, Good One is an impressive calling card for both Donaldson and
Collias herself."
Alexandra Heller-Nicholas
AWFJ.org
"In its lived-in quality and gathering churn, “Good One” is a dream of an
indie, from the craft in every frame to the humor, epiphanies and
mysteries that gird its portraiture."
Robert Abele
Los Angeles Times
"Its most distinctive quality is how much Donaldson and her trio of
actors ... trust the subterranean, and allow it to do its work far
beneath the surface, between the words."
Sheila O'Malley
RogerEbert.com