In India Donaldson’s insightful, piercing debut, 17-year-old Sam (Collias) embarks on a three-day backpacking trip in the Catskills with her dad, Chris (Le Gros) and his oldest friend, Matt (McCarthy). As the two men quickly settle into a gently
quarrelsome brotherly dynamic, airing long-held grievances, Sam, wise beyond her years, attempts to mediate. But when lines are crossed and Sam’s trust is betrayed, tensions reach a fever pitch, as Sam struggles with her dad’s emotional limitations and experiences the universal moment when the parental bond is tested.
The Garden Cinema View:
A powerful debut from India Donaldson, Good One serves as a disturbingly accurate and surgical depiction of toxic family dynamics. Not the trivialised type encountered on social media, but toxicity camouflaged as playful banter and intertwined with genuine - if misguided - love. The film masterfully articulates the often vague and complex process of trauma formation within family histories through subtext, rather than explicit dialogue.
The cast give powerful performances, the script is superbly constructed, and the sound design is exceptional. All of which contribute to Donaldson’s delicate psychological excavation of her central trio. Thanks to the sharp characterisations and writing, the film also serves as a genuinely funny comedy, despite exploring difficult themes. At times, the spirit of Kelly Reichardt guides this trek through the forest, evoking the hiking mysteries of Old Joy, as well as a Reichardtian camera which is always drawn to insects, foliage, and other quiet scenes of nature.
This small triumph stands as one of our programming team's favourite films of 2025 thus far.
