Campfire Drama — THE GOOD ONE

by Jason Godbey

A teenage girl goes camping with her dad and her dad’s best friend. In a sentence, that’s the entire plot of Good One directed by India Donaldson. The story is simple, but the questions it asks are much more complex.

Without spoiling anything, I can safely say what the film is not. It’s not some survivalist tale about a group of campers who are forced to overcome dire circumstances due to an accident or a bear attack or some other kind of man-versus-nature scenario. It’s not a horror movie in which an unsuspecting group of campers is descended upon by strangers who wish to to torture and terrify them. There are no suspenseful chases through the woods or screams in terror. You’ll find none of that here. If those are the types of stories you’re seeking, then this is not the movie for you.

Good One is the story of Sam (Lilly Collias), a teenage girl growing up in the modern era. She’s very bright and a bit wise beyond her years, and she has a close relationship with her dad (James Legros). The two of them set off on a weekend camping adventure with Matt (Danny McCarthy) dad’s friend from college. They drive together, eat together, converse around the fire together and walk and talk as they make their way through the woodland trails. While not particularly action-packed, there are some truly funny, poignant, and enjoyable moments that feel very genuine and realistic.

And then it happens, the pivotal moment in the film where everything changes. To say what that moment is would spoil the plot, but it’s the type of moment that tells you everything you need to know about why you’re watching this movie. It’s is the point of no return for the characters, that will leave a lasting effect on the protagonist. When it happened in my theater, it solicited an audible audience reaction.

That moment in this film marks it’s climax. In most films this would be either the catalyst at the beginning of the movie, the single event that sparks the start of the plot, or it would be the turning point at the end of the first act that propels the story forward. If you’re an experienced movie-goer, you’ll be expecting a huge fall out from this conflict, but the film subverts our expectations giving us a more realistic ending rather than the ending we’ve come to expect. Your reaction to that moment and its aftermath will most likely determine your level of enjoyment or disappointment when the credits role.

All that being said in an effort not to spoil the film, what I can say here is that it is a well-crafted movie with excellent direction, cinematography, and some truly wonderful performances. This is a three-hander in which all the characters come across as real people. This film leans heavily on the relationships between the characters, and we believe them whole-heartily.

Legros and McCarthy are completely believable as two buddies who met in college and are now making their way through life as middle-aged men with children. They give us some great moments that make us feel they’ve known each other for a lifetime and have had some up and downs, but make no mistake this is Sam’s story and Lilly Collias’s movie. We see the events through her eyes, and we’re with her on this journey. Collias is astounding. Without once taking it too far or going over-the-top she brings us moments that many more experienced actors would struggle to create.

It’s a very intimate and unflinching look into the world of a teenage girl who is becoming a woman. It may be a bit too intimate for some, a little too realistic, but that realism and intimacy gives us a provocative movie that will have us thinking and talking about it long after it’s over. This point was proven to me when a woman I was chatting with after the film said “I think men should see this movie.”

Good One is an independent film. There are no car chases, explosions, robots, or other genre elements to it. It’s the kind of character-driven, indie drama that was popular in the 90s when people still cared about independent film. It probably won’t be much competition at the box office for the blockbusters that define the current era of cinema, but if you’re looking for something different, a more intimate story that will make you think and feel something more than just “that was an awesome ride”, then this could be the movie for you.

Originally published at http://behindtherabbitproductions.wordpress.com on August 8, 2024.