Director: India Donaldson
Seventeen-year-old Sam just wants a quiet weekend in the woods. Instead she ends up refereeing two grown men's egos in "Good One," India Donaldson's quietly observant 2024 drama.
What is Good One about?
Sam heads into the Catskills for a backpacking trip with her father, Chris, and his oldest friend, Matt, expecting little more than fresh air and familiar company. What she gets instead is a slow unraveling of the two men's decades-long friendship, playing out in petty jabs, wounded pride, and the kind of casual dismissiveness that adults reserve for the people they're most comfortable around. Sam, caught in the middle, becomes the trip's quiet observer and unofficial mediator, absorbing tension that isn't hers to carry while trying to hold onto the simple pleasure of being outdoors. The film moves at the pace of an actual hike — long stretches of trail, half-finished conversations, small moments of connection interrupted by the men's bruised egos — and lets its point sneak up on the viewer rather than announcing itself. By the trip's end, Sam sees both men, and her place beside them, with a clarity she didn't have at the trailhead.
Cast & crew
Lily Collias carries the film as Sam, communicating most of her reaction through small shifts in expression rather than dialogue. James Le Gros plays her father Chris with a mix of warmth and blind spots, while the ensemble rounds out with Sumaya Bouhbal, Diana Irvine, Sam Lanier, Peter McNally, Eric Yates, and Danny McCarthy filling in the trip's edges.
Context & significance
Writer-director India Donaldson shot much of "Good One" on location in New York's Catskill Mountains, using the trail itself as a structuring device — each campsite and river crossing marking a shift in the group's dynamic. The approach favors naturalistic dialogue and long takes over conventional dramatic beats, a choice that drew attention at festivals for its restraint.
Where & how to watch
"Good One" streams on K-Time, and watching it only requires logging into a free account; browsing this page needs no login at all. The film is available with Persian dubbing and Persian subtitles, part of K-Time's Farsi-language streaming experience built for Persian-speaking viewers wherever they live.