The Good Student is a neat little character study in quiet desperation that is ill served by an illogical and unnecessary twist ending. It's enjoyable and effective enough that you won't mind the poor finish, though, and the twist happens so late that you can really just ignore it and focus on the calm, sedate confidence of this story and its take on small town existence.
Ronald Gibb (Tim Daly) is a history teacher who dresses up as Lincoln for class and gets peanut butter sandwiches thrown at the blackboard when his back is turned. Ron is also the sort of man who drives a piece of crap car and lives in a relatively run down trailer, even though he's got a box full of money under his sink. He's also the kind who is oblivious to the attentions of the bowling alley bartender (Paula Devicq) who lives next door but develops an innocent crush one of his hot, young students (Hayden Panettiere).
Then that hot, young student disappears and Ron is the last one to see her, bringing him into the sights of both the local cops and the girl's monstrous ass of a father (William Sadler). Ron's also constantly harassed by another smart alec student (Sarah Steele) who thinks she's got this lonely, awkward, older man all figured out and holds him in contempt because of it.
The Good Student is about a man who's hiding from his own life, whose unhappiness is leading him into foolish behavior because he won't admit and deal with it. That inner conflict is then crystallized by the external problem of the missing girl and given a structure through which Ron eventually confronts himself and starts acting like a man instead of a hesitant boy. The connection between and inner and outer conflict is a well worn storytelling trope and a lot of low budget indy dramas think they can dispense with such a clichéd dramatic design. They're usually wrong to think that. Conventions become well worn because they work and creators dispense with them at their own peril. Anyone who thinks they're blazing a new narrative trail should remember two things.
1. People have been telling stories for thousands of years and it's extremely unlikely you're doing anything that hasn't been done before.
2. If you think you are, it's probably because people tried it, found it didn't work and learned not to do it that way.
Even after thousands of years, there are those who still bring something new to storytelling. For every one like that, there's a thousand who choke on their arrogant pretension.
But while the missing girl mystery gives form to the story of Ronald Gibb, it only concludes with a twist ending that fails the most basic test of such things. The second most basic test is that it make sense and not invalidate what the audience has seen. The most basic test of a twist, however, is that it changes the audience's perception of events. They think the story was one way, then the twist shows them it was another way. Well, these filmmakers could have eliminated their twist or taken it in a completely different direction and it wouldn't have changed much at all about the story of Ronald Gibb. Maybe they're doing something meta with a twist that isn't really a twist and I didn't get it, but I don't think so.
Tim Daly is good, Paula Devicq is excellent and both writer Adam Targum and director David Ostry demonstrate a real appreciation and insight toward Ron and his circumstances. Their characters have internal life that usually doesn't conform to the faces they show the world or what they convince themselves they see in the mirror.
The Good Student is worth watching, especially if you're not being completely honest with yourself about your own life. If you come across it, give it a look.
Ronald Gibb (Tim Daly) is a history teacher who dresses up as Lincoln for class and gets peanut butter sandwiches thrown at the blackboard when his back is turned. Ron is also the sort of man who drives a piece of crap car and lives in a relatively run down trailer, even though he's got a box full of money under his sink. He's also the kind who is oblivious to the attentions of the bowling alley bartender (Paula Devicq) who lives next door but develops an innocent crush one of his hot, young students (Hayden Panettiere).
Then that hot, young student disappears and Ron is the last one to see her, bringing him into the sights of both the local cops and the girl's monstrous ass of a father (William Sadler). Ron's also constantly harassed by another smart alec student (Sarah Steele) who thinks she's got this lonely, awkward, older man all figured out and holds him in contempt because of it.
The Good Student is about a man who's hiding from his own life, whose unhappiness is leading him into foolish behavior because he won't admit and deal with it. That inner conflict is then crystallized by the external problem of the missing girl and given a structure through which Ron eventually confronts himself and starts acting like a man instead of a hesitant boy. The connection between and inner and outer conflict is a well worn storytelling trope and a lot of low budget indy dramas think they can dispense with such a clichéd dramatic design. They're usually wrong to think that. Conventions become well worn because they work and creators dispense with them at their own peril. Anyone who thinks they're blazing a new narrative trail should remember two things.
1. People have been telling stories for thousands of years and it's extremely unlikely you're doing anything that hasn't been done before.
2. If you think you are, it's probably because people tried it, found it didn't work and learned not to do it that way.
Even after thousands of years, there are those who still bring something new to storytelling. For every one like that, there's a thousand who choke on their arrogant pretension.
But while the missing girl mystery gives form to the story of Ronald Gibb, it only concludes with a twist ending that fails the most basic test of such things. The second most basic test is that it make sense and not invalidate what the audience has seen. The most basic test of a twist, however, is that it changes the audience's perception of events. They think the story was one way, then the twist shows them it was another way. Well, these filmmakers could have eliminated their twist or taken it in a completely different direction and it wouldn't have changed much at all about the story of Ronald Gibb. Maybe they're doing something meta with a twist that isn't really a twist and I didn't get it, but I don't think so.
Tim Daly is good, Paula Devicq is excellent and both writer Adam Targum and director David Ostry demonstrate a real appreciation and insight toward Ron and his circumstances. Their characters have internal life that usually doesn't conform to the faces they show the world or what they convince themselves they see in the mirror.
The Good Student is worth watching, especially if you're not being completely honest with yourself about your own life. If you come across it, give it a look.