December 10, 2002 -- "The Good Girl" is a post-modern European-style drama set in the American south about people who hate their lives and see no way out. If that isn't unusual enough, it is also a story which is told largely from a woman's point of view. In short, this is an art film, not entertainment.

Jennifer Aniston of "Rock Star" stars as Justine Last, a woman who works at the cosmetic counter of a generic department store in the south. She hates her job and is tired of her pot-head husband, Phil (John C. Reilly of "The Perfect Storm"), who is a house painter with his longtime friend, Bubba (Tim Blake Nelson of "O Brother Where Art Thou?"). She hates her life. She wishes she had gone to college so she could have gotten a better job. One day, she notices a new person at one of the checkout counters, Holden Worther (Jake Gyllenhaal of Donnie Darko"), a morose writer who has named himself after Holden Caulfield of "Catcher in the Rye." He hates his life, too. The two malcontents fall into an uneasy affair. Although Holden is satisfied with the relationship, it isn't quite what Justine really wanted. For one thing, she discovers that Holden is just plain nuts.

Although there are bits of humor here and there, the movie never really breaks out of its melancholy funk. Because of that, there aren't many surprises. You know how this story will end long before it does. Unlike most American movies, the story follows ordinary people, making it more like a European film. Also unlike most American films, it actually develops a number of characters and some of them are more complicated than they first appear to be, especially Bubba, who is far deeper and more complex than you would guess at the beginning of the film.

Like "Amercian Beauty" this film is an indictment of the American dream, but more subtle in that regard. The mind-numbing qualities of television are emphasized repeatedly throughout the film. The stifling, dream-robbing control of the workplace is also illustrated, just as it was in "One Hour Photo." All of these people are living lives of quiet desperation. The store manager, Jack Field (John Carroll Lynch) likes to impart a few words of wisdom to the store staff in the mornings, and play a song on the public address system as he looks down on the employees from his lofty glass booth above, bumbling god-like. The store detective, Corny (Mike White of "Orange County," who also wrote the screenplay for "The Good Girl"), seems harmless enough at first, but he has a dark side, and it is closely related to the loss of privacy that has become pervasive. The overall philosophy of the film is determinism, a very common theme in American films. The story clearly demonstrates that that the filmmakers belive you cannot break free of the system, that your lot in life is set in advance by fate. Those who try to defeat their fate will be broken by the all-powerful system. You make your choices and you live with the consequences.

While this is not an entirely downbeat film, it is largely so. Nevertheless, the acting is excellent and the characters are interesting. Aniston melts chameleon-like into her role as the none-too-bright frustrated wife and worker. It is an entirely convincing performance. Reilly and Nelson are outstanding, and so is Gyllenhaal, who probably has the most demanding role of all, erupting into a broad range of volatile emotions. Like last year's best film, "In the Bedroom," this story is very believable and is well-constructed. The conclusion is almost inevitable. There is no need to suspend one's disbelief. Spirituality, in terms of religion, is shunted off into a relatively small corner of the film. Spirituality, in the larger sense, is a central element. Most of the people in the film are spiritually dead and disconnected from any spiritual identity that could give them purpose or peace. This situation remains unchanged during the course of the film. This film rates a C+, not because it is entertaining, but because it is well-written, directed and the performances are outstanding.

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