Good One (2024)

Written, directed and produced by India Donaldson.

Some films feel like great, sweeping epic novels. The sort of book that you would use as a doorstop. Other films can feel like that book, packaged at airports, commercial and formulaic. And then there are the films that feel like short stories, poignant moments, character studies and delicate narration.

Good One (2024) is a short story film. There is no big sweeping plot, and there is nothing generic or bland. Instead, it is a slight, but significant story.

Three main actors – Sam (Lily Collias), her dad Chris (James le Gras) and her Dad’s friend Matt (Danny McCarthy) embark on a short camping trip. Of the two adults Chris is the more responsible one. But has a blind spot about his friend’s shortfalls. Matt is recently divorced, unstable, lacking in self-awareness and splashing around in self-pity and disappointment. Matt’s son, Dylan, wouldn’t join the trip and he has no ability to reflect on why this might be, beyond his own frustration. Dylan’s refusal means that Sam has no peer on the trip and is stranded with Matt and her Dad.

But Sam is interesting. I have never seen this girl on screen before. It was a different portrayal of female adolescence, that fully respects her abilities. Sam is secure in herself. She has a girlfriend. Whilst her sexuality is no big deal, the relationship matters. Sam is also practical and competent. There are no shots of her worrying about what she’s eating, how she looks putting on make-up, no fashion montage. She wears the right clothes to go camping. She puts up tents. She filters water. She cooks over a single gas ring.

There is something so sensible and reassured within her, that it would be easy to forget that she is a teenager, were it not for the fact one of the campers is her Dad. But the two men seem to forget her age too, drinking too much, sharing too much, bickering too much. She becomes the voice of reason. And the atmosphere grows tense.

Then Chris crosses a line. He just pushes his toes over the boundary. This is not a big gesture, but it is significant and massively inappropriate. And we are all reminded of Sam’s youth and her need to be protected. As the forest creaks on the soundtrack, we are reminded of her isolation, the only woman on the trip, The extra burden of safety that she has to carry, shown by how she has to change her tampon behind a tree, whilst the men remain unaware.

Watching the film, I grew tense. However, it was the way I felt after the watch that was more important. The more I reflected on the smallness of the story, the bigger the themes got. Like a good short story, it lingers longer than the time to read the words. It was slight but with so much to discuss. Like all good writing, it is up to the audience to decipher. In its brevity there was not room for discussion and explanation.

The film is also a chance to wallow in idyllic landscapes – a lush green setting, the vastness of nature compared with the tightness of the camping experience. A sensuous sound track of rushing water and birdsong, sounds that feed us joy, but can also act as a warning of danger.

Good One is a film that deserves the big screen or a slim volume of words to tell the story. It is ideal as a matinee, discovered by chance. I hope more of you skip your responsibilities and get to take it in.

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