During a weekend backpacking trip in the Catskills, 17-year-old Sam navigates the clash of egos between her father and his oldest friend.

‘Good One’ is an independent American movie about a teenage girl who goes on a camping trip with her dad and his recently divorced best friend. It’s a coming of age movie of sorts as it follows Sam (played excellently by newcomer Lily Collias) coming to terms with her own sexuality while the men find reasons to argue and bemoan choices they’ve made that have led them to where they are in life. James Le Gros plays Sam’s dad Chris, while Danny McCarthy plays his best friend Matt, and they have the kind of relationship that men have who have known each other for many years and have a weight of history behind them.

The trip was originally meant to include Matt’s son Dylan, however he pulls out at the beginning as he’s fallen out with his dad over the divorce, leaving Sam alone on the trip with the two older men. It makes for an interesting dynamic and writer-director India Donaldson does an excellent job of depicting how these individuals from different generations interact, in both positive and negative ways. In many respects Sam becomes the adult in the room, having to deal with the fragile egos of her father and Matt as they bicker over trivial things and complain about their lives, and this leads to some powerful moments as the story progresses.

As mentioned, Collias is excellent, conveying a lot of her emotions with subtle facial expressions, as much because Sam feels unable to truly open up to her dad – in large part because when she does, he’ll brush her away like she’s still a little child. Donaldson explores the irony of expected gender and age roles well here, as the men want Sam to ‘look after them’, enjoy her conversation, but only on their terms. Neither Chris or Matt are wholly unsympathetic and there are moments when they can be likeable and good company, but that makes it more impactful when there is something to be discussed that isn’t light hearted and neither is up to the task.

‘Good One’ is a solid little indie drama with a super breakout performance from Lily Collias, marking out writer-director India Donaldson as a talent to keep an eye on.

Rating: 3/5

Directed By: India Donaldson

Starring: Lily Collias, James Le Gros and Danny McCarthy

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt30319516/