Review: 'Good One' brilliantly captures the discomfort of a teen daughter learning hard truths about her father

When I first reviewed the father-daughter drama “Good One” at the Sundance Film Festival in January, I complained that the plot didn’t have enough meat to it. But over the months since, what does happen in this beautiful and observant drama has stuck with me like few other movies have.

Sam (played by Lily Collias) is a 17-year-old girl packing for a weekend hiking trip with her dad (James LeGros). The plan is to hike three days in the Catskills, with Dad’s old friend Matt (Danny McCarthy) and Matt’s son Dylan. At the last minute, though, Dylan cancels, leaving Sam alone to deal with the bruised egos of two divorced dads.

The early scenes set the differences between the two men. Dad is much more serious about hiking than Matt, and chastises him for the extraneous items in his backpack and for eating in his tent — which, as Dad notes, is practically inviting bears to enter their camp. “You can be as reckless as you want with your kid, but not when it’s my daughter,” Dad tells Matt.

Generally, though, the trip is pretty laid back, as writer-director India Donaldson zeroes in on the small details of these three people on their hike and the beautiful scenery of the Catskills where it’s filmed.

It turns out to be a small detail — almost a throwaway line of dialogue, really — that turns this low-stress hiking trip into something more sinister, and forces Sam to reconsider what she knows about Matt and what she thinks about her dad. There’s a later scene between Sam and Dad where the dialogue is pivotal, which puts the onus on Sam to decide what to do next.

LeGros and McCarthy give solid performances, but Collias is the breakout star here. In only her second movie (she had a supporting role in the disturbing 2022 Sundance drama “Palm Trees and Power Lines”), Collias subtly captures Sam’s shifting attitudes and her determination to take action when the men disappoint her. Collias must carry a lot on her shoulders, but her eyes and manner are captivating.

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‘Good One’

★★★1/2

Opens Friday, August 23, at the Broadway Centre Cinemas (Salt Lake City). Not rated, but probably R for language. Running time: 90 minutes.

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This review ran originally on this site on January 21, 2024, when the movie premiered at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival.