Good One

This movie feels like a perfect short story. Seventeen-year-old Sam (Lily Collias) gamely heads out on a camping weekend with her recently remarried dad (James LeGros) and his newly divorced best friend, Matt (Danny McCarthy). Matt’s son drops out of the trip before it’s even begun, and you can’t blame him. His dad is a mess—he forgets to bring a sleeping bag—and Chris is wrapped up to tightly in his own idea of what a camping trip should be to pay attention to anybody else. The first couple of days go by in a ruefully comic register. Then on the third night, they get to telling stories around the campfire…

In her debut feature, wrtier-director India Donaldson knocks this one out of the park. All three actors inhabit their roles with absolute authenticity—there’s never a false note—but Lily Collias looks like a star in the making here. It’s a subtle work, but so sensitively done, it shows us a stone we understand there’s a mountain underneath.

Lily Collias gives a dazzling performance in this gorgeous debut about a teenager on a camping trip with her dad and his friend. Gorgeous and subtle… This is a small, delicate film, but its ripples linger.

Stephanie Zacharek, Time

Good One is a reminder that there are always smart, interesting films being released, if you’re willing to look beyond the obvious. As it turns out, looking beyond the obvious is something that the writer-director India Donaldson has a real knack for.

Justin Chang, NPR

The movie smoothly shifts from gentle comedy to emotional punch, modest in a way that sneaks up on you in the end, backed by Celia Hollander’s acoustic, folk-inflected score.

Alissa Wilkinson, New York Times