Parents' Guide to Good One

A remarkably attentive exploration of characters and relationships, this impressive feature writing and directing debut avoids judging or accusing, instead patiently exploring and observing. As Good One begins, filmmaker India Donaldson barely even introduces the characters. Sam has a friend, Jessie (Sumaya Bouhbal), who may or may not be a girlfriend, but we never find out for sure. We do find out later that both Chris and Matt are divorced; Chris has remarried and has a new baby, but Matt is single and having trouble co-parenting Dylan. At first Matt seems like a loudmouth and Chris seems responsible, but as the movie goes on, we see that Matt is more easily able to open up, while Chris is largely inflexible and incurious.

At one point, Chris asks Sam whether she's excited for college, and she responds by telling him it's the first question he's asked her all weekend (which he denies). For her part, Sam is—as Matt points out—quite wise. She's easily able to read these men who've spent more than twice as many years on Earth, but she still has her own hidden sadness and secrets. (Sam is more mysterious and less explored than the men, but Collias' performance adds many layers.) The movie's emotional turning point is a small moment, but it's potent—and crushing. Then Donaldson conjures up a final, wordless image to sum things up; it's small but weighty. In the end, Good One refuses to wrap everything up, leaving it messy and unsolved, which shows that it's less in tune with movie formulas and more in tune with life.