The most common mistake you could make while watching director India Donaldson’s Good One is thinking this is just another coming-of-age indie movie. It’s absolutely not that, given the central character, who’s a teenager, happens to be the most mature person on the screen. But what’s more important than that is the final twenty minutes of the movie, where something unexpected happens—both for Sam and the audience. It’s just one single moment, but unless you’re sleeping under a rock, you can’t ignore it. Some of you might find the ending of Good One sort of baffling, but I suppose that’s exactly where the director wanted to leave you. This is something that should make you think about it over and over. In this article, of course, I’m going to break it down for you.
Spoilers Ahead
What Happens in the Movie?
Middle-aged best friends Chris and Matt set out on the road for a three-day hike in the wilderness. They’re accompanied by Chris’ seventeen-year-old daughter, Sam, who seems like the nicest teenager to be around. Matt’s son, Dylan, who was supposed to accompany them, backs out at the last moment, leaving his father frustrated. You realize Matt doesn’t have a good relationship with Dylan. He and Dylan’s mother Stephanie are not together, and it doesn’t look like he shares a good bond with his ex. Chris, on the other hand, may be divorced from Sam’s mother April, but appears much more sorted compared to his best friend. He’s also the level-headed one, compared to Matt, who’s sort of a clown. Chris packs responsibly, plans everything, while Matt buys unnecessary snacks and is carrying an extremely heavy backpack filled with things you absolutely don’t need on a hike. Sam is pretty much unbothered despite everything, and seems to enjoy the company of her father and Matt. She doesn’t speak much, but not for a second does she act rude or come off as disobedient.
How does the hike go?
It goes exactly like you would expect—genuinely fun, at times challenging, and quite often therapeutic. And as someone who has quite a bit of trekking and hiking experience, I’ve got to say that the director has shown it as realistically as possible. Like what the stupid member of the team always does, Matt conveniently forgets to carry a sleeping bag. That can’t bog down his spirit though, as he valiantly decides to brave the cold with the help of his little flask full of alcohol. Throughout the hike, Chris and Matt bicker like an old married couple, and it almost feels like Sam is the one who’s taking care of them. She doesn’t seem to mind though, given how affectionately she prepares the instant noodles for her father and Matt, not forgetting to ask if they need a dash of chili flakes.
The narrative introduces us to another hiking group—three men much younger than Chris and Matt but way older than Sam. They all seem pretty nice to hang out with, and everyone just randomly starts planning a hike in China in the future. That’s the sort of camaraderie you get to see when you’re out trekking, and watching it felt really nice, almost like savoring a bowl full of warming soup. The whole vibe of Good One is breezy and chill until ‘the thing’ happens (you know what I’m talking about) and everything becomes uncomfortable and awkward.
Is Matt’s behavior inappropriate?
Just when you’ve settled down with the conclusion that this is a nice, little slice-of-life cinema where Sam enjoys a great hiking trip with her loving father Chris and fun uncle Matt, Good One casually drops the crap on us. Did you at all think that Matt would make a pass at Sam, his best friend’s teenage daughter, who’s not even eighteen yet, at some point of this story? Probably not, and neither did I. In hindsight, though, the signs were always there. More than once in the film, there have been conversations about older men getting together with much younger women. Sure, the tone of that was rather casual and very harmless, but it’s undeniable that Matt does think about it. It’s also pretty clear that he’s a sad, lonely man who is still probably not over his ex-wife and is desperately looking for some company. Maybe he’s acting all fun and cool, but he’s not doing alright inside. His acting career is pretty much dead in the water; his son hates him, and he has no one to come home to. And Matt doesn’t seem like a person who can handle being alone. He’s genuinely happy around Chris and Sam, as this trip is offering him the opportunity to get away from his miserable life, at least for some time. He even laments that they should do this more often, which conveys how much this means to him.
Keeping all that in mind, I don’t think Matt had an inherently predatory instinct from the beginning. He didn’t see Sam as anything other than Chris’ kid. In fact, he is even jealous that his best friend has such a great daughter, compared to his son, who he’s drifted apart from. And the way Sam has talked to him throughout the trip, with much poise and maturity—from explaining why Dylan is mad at him to trying to reassure him that it’s going to be alright—we can assume that Matt genuinely admires her. Except it gets to the point where Matt fails to differentiate between right and wrong. Sure, he’s sort of drunk, and it’s a very ‘it just happened’ kind of moment, but asking your best friend’s daughter to come to your tent to keep you warm is never okay. Under any circumstances, it’s problematic and grossly inappropriate. There should not be any doubt about that, and you can even see that on Sam’s face. She was not at all expecting such a thing, and the shock and disappointment are quite visible. Too bad Matt doesn’t get it. The only way he could have redeemed himself a bit was by apologizing right away, but he’s too dumb to even think of that.
What does the ending really mean?
This may sound a bit odd, but I thought Chris was more problematic than Matt. I mean, your daughter is literally telling you about your best friend being unreasonably creepy to her, and all you tell her is not to take it seriously as Matt is a certified idiot. Sure, you can argue that he’s on a trip and wants to enjoy life (from what we’ve seen, he’s hiding from some work trouble as well), but if that’s the case, then I am judging you as well. It also proves what a spectacular failure Chris is as a father. Not denying that Chris loves his daughter and wants to connect with her, but his refusal to confront Matt cements his inability to be a proper father.
It’s also heartbreaking for Sam, if you think about it. Not only does she get harassed by her father’s best friend, she also has to accept the fact that her father is basically a coward who would choose his abuser friend over her. But it’s also remarkable how brilliantly Sam handles the whole thing. Realizing Chris is not going to stand up for her, she does go along and lets her dad have a ‘nice day’. Then, when the men fall asleep, she carefully puts tons of rocks inside Matt’s rucksack. This is more of a statement than a punishment, and also a callback to an earlier scene, where stupid Matt complained about his bag being unreasonably heavy (it was his fault only; he was carrying so many unnecessary things). Anyway, Sam leaves while Chris and Matt are still asleep. I was hoping for the movie to end at that point, leaving Chris wondering where his daughter went off to, but the director had better plans. Sam reaches the car and patiently waits for Chris and Matt to arrive. They do, and Chris is understandably anxious as Sam left without telling them, which is so unlike her. It’s not that he doesn’t understand what has happened, but he still doesn’t feel like doing anything about it. So he offers Sam the opportunity to drive the car. Putting her in the driving seat is him offering something that can be termed ‘consolation,’ as it provides Sam with a sense of control. That’s the best Chris can do, and it’s really disheartening, if I have to be honest. Sam getting inside the car and locking the doors, leaving the men outside while taking a sip of water, is another sign of her showing resilience. That understandably frustrates Chris even more, but by now, he knows why this is happening. A more satisfying ending would have been Sam driving off with the car, leaving Chris and Matt stranded, but that would have also been illogical. Sam is not that kind of person who would do that.
The movie is called Good One for a reason, and it’s the central character, who’s a genuinely great, very sensible human being. She’s not going to shy away from protesting but also wouldn’t do anything hasty. If you notice carefully, there’s not an iota of interaction between Sam and Matt after what Matt does. It also feels like the movie deliberately puts Matt in the background, separating him from Sam and Chris. We don’t get to know what’s up with him, but it’s likely that he’s feeling embarrassed about what he has done. But Chris’ reluctance to get into this matter has also given Matt the chance to move on without confronting it. However, in the very last scene of the movie, Sam opens the car door, and after getting inside, Chris takes out a rock, which has to be one of the many that Sam deliberately put inside Matt’s rucksack. It almost feels like the two are going to finally have a proper conversation regarding the issue, but that’s where the screen fades to black. It is entirely possible that they just drive back to the city in silence. I suppose Sam is also not going to be going on any more hiking trips with Chris and Matt. Most definitely, the hike in China is not happening. The relationship between Chris and his daughter is doomed for the time being, unless he does something about it immediately. As far as Matt goes, it’s hard to feel any sympathy for him after what he has done—no matter how sad his life is.
