2024
Good One
17-year-old Sam joins her dad and his oldest friend on a three-day backpacking trip in the Catskills. While the two men quickly settle into a brotherly dynamic, airing grievances and mid-life crises, Sam observes as the thoughtful “good one”. Against the backdrop of the lush beauty of upstate New York, Sam struggles with her dad’s emotional limitations and slowly becomes disillusioned with her relationship with the two men.
Director
India Donaldson
Runtime
90 Minutes
Country
United States
Classification
Unclassified 15+
On a weekend backpacking trip in the Catskills, 17-year-old Sam contends with the competing egos of her father and his oldest friend.
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). Against the backdrop of the lush beauty of upstate New York, Sam struggles with her dad’s emotional limitations and slowly becomes disillusioned with her relationship with the two men.
What was meant to be a bonding trip between two fathers and their first-borns, soon dissolves into Sam mediating the duelling egos and grievances of the two men when Matt’s son bails on the trip at the last minute. After a line is crossed, Sam’s perception of the trip shifts as she begins to break free from her role as the ‘good one’ in the family.
India Donaldson’s thoughtful debut is a quietly confident portrait of the universal moment when the parental bond is forever broken, while Collias’ breakthrough performance captures teenage girlhood in subtle expressions and things left unsaid.
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). Against the backdrop of the lush beauty of upstate New York, Sam struggles with her dad’s emotional limitations and slowly becomes disillusioned with her relationship with the two men.
What was meant to be a bonding trip between two fathers and their first-borns, soon dissolves into Sam mediating the duelling egos and grievances of the two men when Matt’s son bails on the trip at the last minute. After a line is crossed, Sam’s perception of the trip shifts as she begins to break free from her role as the ‘good one’ in the family.
India Donaldson’s thoughtful debut is a quietly confident portrait of the universal moment when the parental bond is forever broken, while Collias’ breakthrough performance captures teenage girlhood in subtle expressions and things left unsaid.
“It’s genuinely one of the best show-don’t-tell performances in modern American cinema.”
Rolling Stone
“Good One is as complete a piece of storytelling as you’ll see all year.”
Los Angeles Times
Cannes, New York, Sundance, Melbourne
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Film Credits
Director
India Donaldson
Year
2024
Country
United States
Language
English
Type
Feature & Fiction
Program Strand
Feature Fiction Competition & World Cinema
Producer
Graham Mason, Diana Irvine & Wilson Cameron
Writer
India Donaldson
Cinematographer
Wilson Cameron
Editor
Graham Mason
Cast
Lily Collias, James Le Gros & Danny McCarthy
Film Source
Visit Films
Genre
Coming of Age, Drama & Nature
Purchase Tickets
Sunday 27 Oct 2024
07:15 pm
Good One
Palace Nova Eastend:
Palace Nova Eastend Eximax
Sunday 3 Nov 2024
12:00 pm
Good One
Palace Nova Eastend:
Palace Nova Eastend Cinema 4
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