The Good Girl

A closely observed tragicomedy about the desperation of some American lives. Justine (Jennifer Aniston), a 30-year-old woman living in an anonymous town, is beginning to appreciate just how limited her options have become. She works in a dead-end job at a Retail Rodeo discount store. She is married to Phil (John C. Reilly), a good-natured sort, but a chronic underachiever and a pothead. When 20-year-old Holden (Jake Gyllenhaal, who seems to be in everything these days), who borrows his name, of course, from J.D. Salinger’s famous protagonist, begins working at the store, Justine feels the tug of attraction. To her, the dark, brooding Holden seems to offer everything that is missing from her drab life, not least the chance for a fresh start. Never mind that he is immature, disturbed, and probably unstable (as Justine herself describes him later, “at best a child, and at worst a demon”). An affair develops, but things wind up badly in the end, and the movie concludes poised on the razor’s edge between hope and despair. As Justine, Aniston delivers a solid performance, but she cannot entirely escape her inner Rachel (the role, of course, that made her famous on “Friends”). The supporting cast is uniformly excellent, and the script, by Mike White (who also has a small role as a Jesus freak security guard), treads that delicate line between humor and pathos very well. Miguel Arteta directs with economy and restraint.