The discrepancy between a feature film and its trailer can be glaring and has been the basis of litigation. This is not the place to go into the details. Woulfe et al. v. Universal City Studios LLC — the matter was settled out of court — and not necessarily applicable to India Donaldson’s debut film, “The Good One.” But yes, the trailer for the film is misleading.
The trailer suggests a combination of The Good One (1972), The Cage of Fools (1978) and a slasher film. The Good One is something different and, I might add, something better. What should it be compared to? Perhaps a short story by Canadian writer Alice Munro or, in terms of family discord, Anton Chekhov. Intimate vision coupled with modest means. In this dynamic, Ms. Donaldson hits a nerve.
The framework of the story is straightforward, but the relationship between the three main characters is less so.
Sam (Lily Collias) is a privileged 17-year-old girl. She lives with her father, his new wife and a little stepbrother in an elegant Brooklyn townhouse. Her father Chris (James le Gros) is liberal enough to accept Sam’s girlfriend as part of the family. The plan for the weekend is an annual hike through the Catskills with Chris’ friend Matt (Danny McCarthy) and Matt’s adolescent son Dylan (Julian Grady).
But all is not well with Matt. He is in the middle of a divorce and there is a conflict between father and son. When Chris and Sam arrive at Matt’s house – a terraced house in a less upscale part of the district – an argument is in progress. Doors are slammed, curses can be heard. Dylan cancels the trip. Matt climbs into Chris’ car, cracks jokes and fools no one. The trip does not start well.
We soon realize that these two grown men don’t exactly smell the same. When Matt stops at a supermarket, he stocks up on a lot of things that Chris is horrified by – junk food, an umbrella, and the like. When the trio arrives at their destination, Chris reorganizes Matt’s backpack, throwing out most of its contents. The two men argue in a way that speaks to the length and depth of their friendship. The only thing Matt is allowed to indulge in is a bottle of liquor.
Sam watches the back and forth between her father and his best friend with amused condescension. Matt’s continued misfortune as a city man in the woods – he forgot his sleeping bag, can you believe it – is a source of amusement. But when three strangers invade our trio’s surroundings, Sam becomes suspicious. So do we. They’re an odd bunch, these chummy guys with their interest in spiritualism. But not too soon they’re off and away: a masculine MacGuffin that’s less toxic than first suggested. Which is not to say that masculinity isn’t poisonous….
The Good One is a simmering provocation, tense and threatening. After attending the film with a cross-generational group, the resulting conversation was rather combative and loud. Opinions were divided, to say the least, about a film in which some characters are less unscathed than others, but all of the characters are repulsive in their own peculiar way.
The heart of the film should not be given away in a review, but Ms. Donaldson handles it with a restraint that is no less effective despite its unresolvedness. Ms. Collias was hailed as a rising star for playing a character who is very wise for her age. But Messrs. le Gros and McCarthy are equally nuanced as middle-aged men who have barely come to terms with their own inadequacies.
All the while, the dramas inherent in the human species – a creature prone to contradiction, selfishness and love – play out against the backdrop of the majestic forests of New York State. “Good One” is a disturbing debut.
