GOOD-MAN

In the inviting but strange small town of Summerville, NC, in 2010, “GOOD-MAN” follows Henry, a reserved 18-year-old, as he navigates the first day of summer after his senior year of high school– a day that tests his identity, family legacy, and self-worth. Stuck in the shadow of his father, Mr. Goodman, whose controlling nature is masked by a weighty small-town reputation, Henry struggles to find an identity. His reckless yet accepting best friend, Billy, is determined to help him. As the day unfolds, the film focuses on Henry’s emotions as he is drawn into a looming street fight with Jansen, a rival who challenges his willingness to defend his romantic hopes with Carly. Billy encourages Henry to embrace the symbolic journey, from a phone call and awkward confrontation at the Goodman Family Diner to a car ride full of unexpected detours, including a visit to Billy’s grandmother’s house, where Henry gains a glimpse of a different kind of familial love and acceptance of the process/journey. With a fight set in a parking lot at sundown and an unsettling car ride with time to process the day, Henry wrestles with his father’s suffocating expectations and his need for freedom. Will he finally accept the journey and freedom that Billy is pushing for?