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Review

Aniston is subtle and engaging as Justine, a woman who spends her nights in her backwater Texas town lying awake next to her snoring, stoner, house painter husband Phil (Reilly). Her fellow employees at the Retail Rodeo discount store accommodate their lives each in his own way, whether born again fervor, vegetarian-assisted cheerfulness or straight-faced verbal rebellion. Justine notices new employee Holden (Gyllenhaal), silent, brooding, just about the same age she was when she married Phil seven years ago. Holden was kicked out of college for drunkenness and rowdy behavior; Justine didn’t go to college because she was afraid of losing Phil. They form a relationship based on the shared contention that nobody gets them and they get each other. Justine deludes herself that this affair is unnoticed until confronted by Phil's ever-present buddy Bubba (Nelson). Her attempts to pull away from Holden are met with hysteria and pleading, precipitating events inevitable, tragic and ultimately redemptive. The Good Girl is an unexpected gem; small, well-faceted, with exceptional clarity and color. Director Arteta, who with writer White previously collaborated on Chuck & Buck, continues to impart his unique sensibility to the screen, making good use of his well-chosen cast as he and they bring these most fallible characters to life with quirky affection.