To help dramatize Sam’s watchfulness of these emotionally blocked men, Donaldson rarely shoots the men straight on, their faces and bodies frequently in the shadows of trees, or in tight and obstructed angles.
— Greg Nussen (Slant Magazine)
Much of Good One plays like a cross between Kelly Reichardt and Noah Baumbach – with further crisscrossing between multiple modes of each filmmaker. There’s the modest, verdant-scenery male bonding of Reichardt’s Old Joy, plus the seething, stranded dynamic of Michelle Williams’ character in Meek’s Cutoff; similarly, the banter of a Baumbach comedy – the dialogue between Chris and Matt is often very funny – intersects with a lower-key version of Marriage Story tensions.
— Jesse Hassenger (Paste Magazine)
Words are certainly significant to illustrating the film’s interpersonal dynamics, but the purpose they serve is neither explanatory nor diagnostic; the characters’ conduct tends to be more illuminating than their rambling and what they refrain from telling one another matters nearly as much as what they do disclose.
— Matthew Eng (Reverse Shot)
Synopsis: On a weekend backpacking trip in the Catskills, 17-year-old Sam contends with the competing egos of her father and his oldest friend.