Cannes 2024 – “Good One” by India Donaldson or the very reality of ordinary sexism

Here is a good film, funny and delicate, right where you’d expect it to be, a model heir to American indie cinema with the Sundance label, perfectly situated between a very Kelly Reichardt-esque (Old Joy) bucolic minimalism, a Linklater-esque verbosity and a Lady Bird-like coming-of-age tone. All of this with the important detail that Sam, the young girl played by Lily Collias, is anything but rebellious. In fact, she appears disciplined and calm, and it’s hard to tell from the look on her angelic face whether she’s genuinely delighted by the forest getaway she’s about to embark on with her father and his friend, or whether she’s extremely accommodating and highly adaptable.

At no point does Good One foreshadow the turn it’s about to take, and so it willingly gives way to the wholesomeness of these tenderly sympathetic, harmless men and the endearing mediocrity to which they’re entitled. The film’s strength lies in its ability to think and configure its form according to what is expected of it – prettiness and discretion – like those old instructions imposed on young girls – to intensify its feminist surge and make its unbearable sensation of frightening, banal misogyny tangible. It also stems from India Donaldson’s acute intuition to hold back this shift and let it finally gush forth in such a welcoming setting.

Traduction Emma Frigo