Get the latest gossip

How to Turn Your Drama into a Thriller With a Single Line of Dialogue

For most of its runtime, Good One is a quiet, keenly observed drama — until one stomach-dropping sentence transforms it.

Any tension surrounding the short Catskills camping trip that Chris (James Le Gros) and Sam (Lily Collias) are embarking on can be rationalized as typical of the dynamic between an astute college-bound teenager and her work-stressed parent. His teenage son dropped out of the trip at the last minute, converting an evenly matched weekend shared among family friends into a lopsided arrangement that relegates Sam to the literal and figurative back seat. But despite the melancholy in his voice, he doubles down: “Yeah, it’s not fair your dad gets an extra body.” The camera lingers on Sam’s face as she meekly says she’s going to put out the fire and head to bed.

Get the Android app