Metro Pulse/Movie Guru/The Good Girl

Movie Guru Rating:
Enlightening (4 out of 5)

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Jennifer Aniston's creates a total character

by Tamar Wilner

When I was little, my sister collected a series of romantic historical novels, ostensibly written for teens, but with very little redeeming value. She must have had forty, at least. Named after their protagonists—Samantha, Nadine, Roxanne—each was set in a different period of U.S. history, a different locale. Roxanne, I remember, was an Oklahoma Dustbowl refugee who sought her fortune in Tinseltown. Other books were set during the Revolution or onboard the Titanic, but all bore the same formula: the heroine had to choose between a conventional, dutiful boyfriend and a passionate, rebellious suitor. Betcha can't guess whom she chose.

For The Good Girl's Justine (Jennifer Aniston), the old should-I-stay-or-should-I-go dilemma is not nearly so easy to solve. It's not even a dilemma, strictly speaking, but a series of small decisions. The 30-year-old wife and cosmetics counter saleswoman stumbles through her days like a mouse in a maze, ignorant to repercussions, never knowing her choices until they stare her in the face. Will the next turn lead to an exit, or to more choices, more agony, on an increasingly serpentine path? Like ourselves, Justine can only close her eyes and hope for the best.

It doesn't help that everyone around her seems happy to stay where they are. Her co-worker Gwen bears a perpetually cheerful attitude, unharmed by the mind-numbing effects of employment at the Retail Rodeo. The store security guard trusts unquestioningly in God's will. Her house painter husband whiles away his nights smoking pot on the couch with his constant companion Bubba.

So when a lost soul enters Justine's universe, she finds herself drawn to him. Holden's doleful eyes and taciturn nature set him apart from the other employees. His real name is Tom, but he's named himself after the Catcher in the Rye character because they're both "put upon by society." Once Justine's life becomes intertwined with Holden's, new dilemmas come upon her hard and fast: not only questions of fidelity, but of friendship, honor, and compromise.

Much of the time Justine chooses unwisely, and that's what makes the movie work so well. Aniston has crafted a character that feels like a human being, not a vehicle for life lessons. (Better still, the character has nothing to do with Rachel Green.) She's helped by the frank, unsentimental team of director Miguel Arteta and writer Mike White (Chuck & Buck). There are no flashbacks to give artificial heft to the heroine's pensive expressions, no moments of epiphany to tie disparate actions together in a neat package. There is only the day-to-day living with the competence of your average Jane, without benefit of script or map.

Most movie adulteresses cover their tracks so neatly, you'd think they'd attended The James Bond School of Treachery. Justine bears no such talent. True to her desperate nature, she pursues her affair in a haze of oblivion. It's not that she doesn't care who sees; it's that she's convinced herself they don't see. Complications ensue, with little time for reflection. Every raised eyebrow or skeptical question demands Justine's instantaneous response.

"Do you know where Holden is?" her manager asks. "I know the two of you are friends."

"No we're not," Justine responds, much to the manager's disbelief. Her co-worker Cheryl stares, slack-jawed.

"You eat lunch together every day," the manager prompts.

"No we don't," Justine retorts, her voice flat. It's a childish response, pitiful, and utterly true to character. The cloistered young wife thrills in her newfound secret, but she hasn't quite got the deceit thing down yet.

Justine's not The Good Girl, but she's not exactly a bad girl either. It's a credit to Arteta and White that they've forgone hip irony and simple topsy-turviness for a more textured approach to morality. Justine's actions sometimes surprise; seemingly caring one minute, she can be cold and calculating the next. And, like all of us, she's given to changing her mind. She'll make a hasty decision, spin the wheels with a good hard shove, only to drag them to a stop the next day.

Of course, the signposts aren't clearly marked. There's no dependable husband/dashing lover dichotomy to mark the way. Justine's spouse Phil (John C. Reilly, Magnolia and Boogie Nights) is just as nuanced. He may be a couch potato, but he's not a beast. Meanwhile, Holden (Jake Gyllenhaal, Donnie Darko, Lovely & Amazing) is defined as much by his neediness and obsession as he is by his romanticism.

From her myopia to her penchant for obstinate denial, Justine is about as real as cinema gets. Most of her world lies behind blind corners, and without a bird's-eye-view of her condition she's nearly helpless to see the larger moral picture. Which has very little to do with Rachel or Monica, but much more to do with us.