In India Donaldson’s insightful, piercing debut, 17-year-old Sam (Collias) embarks on a three-day backpacking trip in the Catskills with her dad, Chris (Le Gros) and his oldest friend, Matt (McCarthy). As the two men quickly settle into a gently quarrelsome brotherly dynamic, airing long-held grievances, Sam, wise beyond her years, attempts to mediate. But when lines are crossed and Sam’s trust is betrayed, tensions reach a fever pitch, as Sam struggles with her dad’s emotional limitations and experiences the universal moment when the parental bond is tested.
Good One
USA 2024
Dir: India Donaldson
Cast: Lily Collias, James LeGros, Danny McCarthy
English / 90m
Release date:16 May 2025
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“Excellent…a smart, sympathetic and terrifically acted drama”
— ★★★★ The Guardian
“One of the best show-don’t-tell performances in modern American cinema… devastating and humanistic to its very core… it’s just a great f***ing movie full stop”
— Rolling Stone
“Subtly dark, humorous, and wise”
— Harper’s Bazaar
“The movie is a near-flawless miniature, and one of the most welcome surprises of the year in film so far”
— ★★★★★ Financial Times
“Modest and casual until the film’s master plan suddenly clicks into place… Good One tightens its tension into a knot in the pit of your stomach”
— Indiewire
“The most profound debut of the year”
— Little White Lies
“A fiendishly clever script enlivened by a quick-witted ensemble cast”
— ★★★★ Irish Times
“Lily Collias gives a dazzling performance in this gorgeous debut”
— Time Magazine
“Lily Collias is a luminous discovery”
— The Hollywood Reporter