Tribeca 2022: Good Girl Jane Review

This will be one of several reviews from this year’s Tribeca film Festival. To follow our coverage, click here.

Addiction is an important issue that continues to plague society as a whole. It has been depicted one way or another across film for a long time now, especially the last few decades. That being said, the topic still presents a fine line for filmmakers who attempt to approach in a way that will resonate with audiences. The best films treat the topic with love and empathy instead of demonizing the addicted who could be anyone at any time as it does not discriminate. Good Girl Jane, based on writer/director Sarah Elizabeth Mintz’s short film of the same name, is a family addiction drama masquerading as a coming-of-age story. Bringing plenty of intensity to the table, the film fails to find the right balance between those two. Though the film will almost certainly not be for everyone with a few trigger scenes, what is undeniable is a powerhouse lead performance from Rain Spencer in her first feature film role.

Good Girl Jane centers around a young girl named Jane (Spencer) and her struggle starting at a new school following an incident at her last one and living amidst a broken home following her parents’ divorce. Simply craving connection, she gravitated towards some questionable friends and began a downward spiral by seeking refuge in drugs. Over the course of her downward spiral, Jane came across a charming yet even more questionable drug dealer named Jamie (Gibson) for whom she’d fallen in love with as he pulled her down further into the seedy underworld of LA. From there, the only question was whether or not Jane would survive by the end but whatever her fate was going to be, she would have to pull herself out of her spiral. Though this wasn’t necessarily a sure thing, her arc was still somewhat compelling to watch. Meanwhile, at her wit’s end, Jane’s mother (MacDowell) tried her best to hold it all together. Essentially a single mother, there’s only so much she can do as it was easy to connect with her frustration trying to take care of Jane and the rest of her family.

In the end, the best part of Good Girl Jane was the aforementioned powerful performance from Spencer as Jane. Even though it may not all work, she holds it all together, delivering layers of pain underneath the confused and naïve girl. Jamie may have been a despicable character but Gibson was definitely charming.

Good Girl Jane will resonate with some audiences better than others but Spencer is definitely going places.

still courtesy of Tribeca

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Keith Noakes

The EIC of the coincidentally-named keithlovesmovies.com. A Canadian who prefers to get out of the cold and into the warmth of a movie theatre.