The inaudible and unseen moments in a person’s life slowly spiral into irreversible changes. The most important things don’t take place in the things that the dialogue says. I think we’ve all been through this truth with some indignation, but how to achieve it in a film is difficult to do, more so when those subterranean moments are settled states in time and space with a shift, that is, the character (and the audience) gets that nothing will ever be the same again. It is a thought that is captured by the eye of a Good One film camera, and yet so many films seem to have a distrust of this, their air bulges with pointless conversations and dialogues be it one of introduction or one of clarifications. Why ‘Good One’ is extra ordinary in many aspects is fine, but the most traditional aspect of the film is the amount of trust that Donaldson and her trio of actors (James LeGros, Danny McCarthy, and Lily Collias) place on the subterranean and let it work way below the surface, in between the words.
Chris (Le Gros) and Matt (McCarthy) have known each other since birth, and their connection resembles that of a couple that has been married for long. Chris is the responsible parent, but his rule has ended as the situation he currently finds himself in is an unwanted middle-aged crisis. Matt is a wannabe actor and has been dealing with self-pity. His teenage boy doesn’t want to have anything with him. Chris’ daughter Sam (Collias) is also 17 and a high school senior who will be heading to college this fall. She is a good child and very much looking forward to the world. She is anticipating a weekend in the Catskills for some hiking with her father, Matt, and his son. When Matt’s son refuses to show up, it means that Sam has no other small boy to play with. There is no more time to change one’s mind.
The Good One hike is not a simple afternoon stroll on the picturesque slopes of the California mountains. This is a three day affair with everyone carrying their own gear on their backs and walking far over very rough grounds. Chris and Sam hike a lot. They know the step by step ritual. Matt is an idiot. He has jeans on. He carries the wrong provisions for the outing. He cannot do the one basic thing which is setting up the tent. The touchy and unreasonable person is Chris. It seems to me like the feeling she has towards her friends is more of a routine instead of warmth. Matt annoys Chris all the time and cracks up Matt. His is goodness – like a mask worn over sadness that cries out for help – or hope, more like it. In one of his fodder nudity, he says “I have no idea how I got so crazed. ”
We are surrounded by all of this through Sam’s perspective who is smart and sensical. Ultimately it is surprising to both of the men when they seek her opinion on such adult issues and she responds so deeply. There is however something that feels a little “off” about all of this. Yes, Sam is 17 years old. But there’s this childish essence to her that some people have at her age. These guys are too much, one of them is her father. They should be able to distinguish that she is small, they shouldn’t think that it is okay to come over and get drunk and trade sordid tales of cheating in front of her. What initially is just a rather friendly gathering (albeit, there is a lot of bickering) suddenly becomes rather unpleasant very quickly. In fact, with increasing precision through the film, we get this sense that Sam doesn’t really feel safe with the two men, that she has known all her life.
Last but not the least, it is exciting to note the audience’s disinterest toward the explanations. Or rather, it’s difficult not to feel how the film pulls you into its atmosphere, to ‘satisfy’ an audience with simple verbal explanations or even easy- to- provide cathartic moments. In her period, Sam continues to get away from the road and goes out to grab a tampon, while Chris and Sam stand behind her, unaware of the extra burden they have imposed upon her. As in, she has this whole world they have no clue about. This is an era that is particularly intriguing (for all the details in this lovely movie including the title, are of academic interest) focusing on the biological distinction but just as well stressing her being on her own. The rest are all still at home, the only other women in the film. Sam is a single lady.
I went with a friend to a press screening and afterwards we walked home discussing it the whole way. And there was so much to discuss, and I’m sorry but I think it is the fact that it all ‘means’ that is unspoken. Donaldson doesn’t take an optional approach.
Outdoors is where most of the action of the film occurs. The inside story is elevated by the art of cinematographer Wilson Cameron who shot several of Donaldon’s shorts. Placing intense focus on the more daring aspects of Good One filmmaking, there are moments in the film where a very strong creative eye is utilized in the form of very peculiar lenses where the following structure is in use, the head of one individual is positioned toward the camera while another is positioned toward the back of the frame. The characters get squashed into the picture but find themselves in one another’s way. The sound of rushing water, thundering bugs and chirping birds do quite a better job than words in voicing the sound design. There are several minutes of the packed last scene but no more tents and no more setting up of the camp.the characters instead, we watch them hike, fold tents and dismantle their site. The tempo is quite calm, however, there are other activities which are brewing and breaking.
His attentiveness to Collias’ face is perhaps the cause why most of the Good One film is focused on the face of Collias. Out of the words, gaze her age here, is still a very impress young actress, and every change in her mind, every effort, and every laugh or surprise is apparent. It is her face that directs us. And this, this subterranean shift, is Sam’s also, it is a tectonic plate that once moved very low beneath the tins of her life, shifting her permanently. However quick to grab cache in the wild and leave. When Sam comes out of the woods, she is not the same girl who walked into them. The end of the tunnel is every inch the same.
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