Good One
Metrograph Pictures | Release Date: August 9, 2024 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
87
METASCORE
Universal acclaim based on 30 Critic Reviews
Positive:
28
Mixed:
2
Negative:
0
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
100
Rolling StoneDavid FearAug 12, 2024
Good One is, among its infinite attributes, an ode to a style of filmmaking that appears to be humble, yet still manages to be devastating and humanistic to its very core. Mostly, it’s just a great f*cking movie, full stop. Read full review
100
Los Angeles TimesRobert AbeleAug 9, 2024
In its lived-in quality and gathering churn, Good One is a dream of an indie, from the craft in every frame to the humor, epiphanies and mysteries that gird its portraiture. Read full review
100
RogerEbert.comSheila O'MalleyAug 8, 2024
Good One is intriguing in its disinterest in explanations. The film's refusal to "satisfy" an audience with easy explanations or even cathartic moments pulls you into its atmosphere, dragging you into the weird dynamic which grows more claustrophobic by the moment. Read full review
100
The Associated PressLindsey BahrAug 7, 2024
All of the acting is terrific and so naturalistic that it’s easy to forget that these are actors performing lines that they’ve memorized in front of a camera. Read full review
93
The AtlanticShirley LiAug 15, 2024
Good One shows that growing up can begin with a single conversation that illuminates, for someone like Sam, how far she has left to go. Read full review
91
Original-CinChris KnightAug 14, 2024
Good One, a lesson in minimalist storytelling from first-time feature writer-director India Donaldson, is a movie that sneaks up on you. Read full review
91
ConsequenceClint WorthingtonJan 29, 2024
Donaldson has a tremendous command of pace and silence, laying the desperation of middle age (and how it looks to those whose lives are still ahead of them) bare with little more than a gesture or a closeup. It’s a killer debut for both her and Collias, and it will be exciting to see what both can do with the momentum a picture like this can provide. Read full review
90
SlateSam AdamsAug 12, 2024
Good One is a quiet movie, not because it has little to say but because it wants you to listen, to pay as much attention to what’s left unsaid as to its meticulously crafted dialogue, and to the way silence can be a power as well as a punishment. Read full review
90
The New York TimesAlissa WilkinsonAug 8, 2024
Good One is the writer and director India Donaldson’s feature debut, and an astounding one, full of the kind of emotional detail that can only come from personal experience. Read full review
90
Film ThreatBobby LePireJan 29, 2024
Good One is a carefully crafted character study. It’s brought to life by perfectly calibrated performances, led by the young but brilliant Lily Collias. This is one hike everyone should experience. Read full review
90
ColliderChase HutchinsonJan 23, 2024
Through it all, Collias is so confident and assured that it feels like this is her fiftieth leading role instead of her first. Read full review
89
Austin ChronicleKimberley JonesAug 15, 2024
Out of a tight, terrific cast, it’s Collias’ performance – so alert and contained, its potency comes on later, like a time-release pill – that gets under your skin. It’s a star-making turn: not just a good one, a great one. Read full review
88
Washington PostTy BurrAug 15, 2024
Good One takes advantage of the summer lushness of the Catskills, Wilson Cameron’s nature-centric cinematography and Celia Hollander’s ruminative acoustic score to cast a spell over its 89 sure-footed minutes. Read full review
88
The Daily BeastNick SchagerAug 9, 2024
A quietly explosive tale of disconnection and betrayal, its placid exterior masking a wellspring of combustible tensions that are both impossible to ignore and difficult to resolve. Read full review
88
LarsenOnFilmJosh LarsenAug 8, 2024
Good One is a crafty feature debut from writer-director India Donaldson, in that its unassuming air and “small” story create little ripples that eventually coalesce into something shattering. Read full review
83
The A.V. ClubKatie RifeAug 15, 2024
Good One is beautifully observed, making its point without being too obvious, and perfectly judged in that it doesn’t waste a single shot. The beats of the film are simple and straightforward, but if you hone in on the details, every second is full of information. Read full review
83
The Film StageJordan RaupJan 22, 2024
Good One is an acutely felt portrait of impending womanhood and a remarkable debut for India Donaldson. Read full review
83
IndieWireDavid EhrlichJan 22, 2024
Modest and casual until the exact moment when the film’s master plan suddenly clicks into place like the hammer of a gun transforming a neutral tool into a deadly weapon, “Good One” is the kind of movie that tightens its complete lack of tension into a knot in the pit of your stomach. Read full review
83
The PlaylistRodrigo PerezJan 22, 2024
It’s a sublime little travelogue, deceptively simple, engaging, and thoughtful. Read full review
80
The TimesKevin MaherMay 16, 2025
Towards the end, that mood changes devastatingly. Another film might have needed a murder to send these chills but Donaldson is in such control of the tone, and her cast are on such exquisite form, that a single sentence has massive reverberations. Read full review
80
The Irish TimesTara BradyMay 15, 2025
India Donaldson’s Good One is a sneaky revelation, a low-key coming-of-age drama that deftly sidesteps familiar tropes in favour of keen cringe comedy and emotional precision. Read full review
80
The GuardianPeter BradshawMay 13, 2025
It is very intelligent and humane, and what a great performance from Collias. Read full review
80
TimeStephanie ZacharekAug 9, 2024
Collias captures something gossamer here, a quiet shift into adult womanhood that happens, literally, overnight. Read full review
80
Screen DailyAllan HunterMay 15, 2024
The ending is as low-key as the rest of the film, but the subtle shifts in power and understanding feel like a significant coming of age. Read full review
80
The Hollywood ReporterDavid RooneyJan 22, 2024
All three principal performances are expertly synced and feel entirely lived in. But it’s Collias who gives the minimalist character study its lingering emotional amplitude, conveying the volatile inner life of a woman making discoveries not only about her camping companions but also about herself. Read full review
80
VarietyGuy LodgeJan 22, 2024
Collias impresses in a role that doesn’t grant her any great extremes of expression. Sam’s temperate demeanor may simply be her nature, but Collias’s tautly wired performance shows how it’s also a defense. Read full review
75
Slant MagazineGregory NussenJan 29, 2024
The film instinctively and lucidly shows how sometimes a coming of age can be thrust upon a person against their will. Read full review
71
Paste MagazineJesse HassengerJan 31, 2024
This is a striking introduction to Donaldson’s unflinching eye. Read full review
60
Wall Street JournalZachary BarnesAug 8, 2024
It feels mostly believable but a bit too obvious, as the meaning of the movie seems to shrink in its final minutes to fit a theme. Still, as a debut, “Good One” is good enough, a sensitively performed drama of a journey into the wild. Read full review
60
Screen RantMae AbdulbakiFeb 9, 2024
The film is compelling and quietly thought-provoking as it peels back the layers of the relationships at the forefront, while also showcasing the discomfort that follows but isn’t always picked up on. Read full review
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