New Zealand filmmaker Roger Donaldson was a founding member of the Aussie/Kiwi New Wave of the '70s before succumbing to the lure of Hollywood in the '80s, as did so many from that movement. That acclaimed wave of films tackled such subjects as gender, colonialism and inter-personal relationships, often by contrasting "civilized" people against the rugged backdrop of untameable terrain. Though it's set in the US, the spirit of that antipodean movement lives on in Good One, the writing/directing debut of India Donaldson, daughter of Roger.
Those Aussie/Kiwi New Wave films often suggested that if you put people in the sort of places where people aren't really meant to be - a desert or a jungle - the thin veneer of civilisation would begin to erode, that inhibitions would be loosened, that unaired grievances would finally be spoken. The film from that movement that Donaldson's debut most resembles is Colin Eggleston's Long Weekend, in which a middle class married couple's relationship deteriorates over the course of a holiday weekend camping trip in the outback.
In Good One it's not the relationship between a husband and wife that gets tested over a long weekend, but between a father and daughter. Teenager Sam (Lily Collias) is about to head off for college and her old man, Chris (James Le Gros), wants to enjoy one final hike in the woods with his little girl before she flees the familial nest. Sam and Chris were meant to be joined by Chris's old friend Matt (Danny McCarthy) and his own teenage son, but when the latter has an argument with his dad, Sam is stuck with a pair of middle-aged men whose baggage extends far beyond their hefty backpacks.
"One of the good ones" is a phrase usually used by white people to condescendingly praise a person of colour who subscribes to white standards, but here it's wielded similarly to describe Sam as a rarity among teenagers. She's every parent's dream: smart, curious, and most importantly obedient. She's the sort of kid who's usually seen but not heard. Chris and Matt are constantly telling her she's wise beyond her years, but it's more a case of the two men suffering from arrested development, as so many middle-aged men do.
Good One is a patient drama whose tension sneaks up on you. For much of its running time it seems like a jovial tale of a father spending some quality time with his kid and his best bud. But Donaldson gradually adds seasoning to her passive aggressive pressure cooker until it reaches boiling point. Chris and Matt's relationship is revealed to be built on a curious sub/dom dynamic, with the smug Chris constantly making cruel jibes at his friend's expense, mocking everything from his waistline to the failure of his own marriage. Having no doubt been on the recieving end of her father's insensitivity herself, Sam begins to stand up for Matt. Alone in this wilderness, Sam finally gets to see her father for who he really is, a rather pathetic man who wields his successful career as a shield to hide his insecurities. But in giving Matt the sort of empathy he seems to be quietly crying out for, she puts herself in a dangerous position.
Early on, Chris scolds Matt for eating a chocolate bar in his tent, claiming the scent of the food could attract a bear. No such beasts make an appearance on this trip, but in challenging her father and displaying sympathy for Matt, Sam is poking two burly bears in very different ways. It all leads to an incident that makes Sam realise just how alone she is as a woman in this microcosm of a man's world, that her father would rather she be seen and not heard, especially when what she has to say isn't what he wants to hear.
At a tight 90 minutes, Good One ends at a point that more traditional narratives might choose to close out a first act and set up more overt drama to come. Like a DJ who knows just the right tune to drop as the club's lights come on, Donaldson sends us out wanting more. By leaving the fates of her characters to our imaginations, she has assured her debut is a film that will linger long in our minds, and possibly cause us to question our own relationships with our children or parents.
Directed by: India Donaldson
Starring: Lily Collias, James Le Gros, Danny McCarthy
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