There is a particular kind of satisfaction you only get from an indie film that knows exactly what lane it is driving in. It is not trying to look like a two hundred million dollar studio machine. It is not trying to convince you it reinvented cinema. It is trying to tell a story, keep you entertained, land a few laughs, and maybe leave you with a thought or two rattling around your skull on the walk back to the sofa.
One of the Good Ones sits comfortably in that space.
Directed by Julie O’Hora, who also co wrote the screenplay with Vincent Scarsella, the film is based on Scarsella’s novel Lawyers Gone Bad and uses Buffalo, New York as its backdrop. The setup is simple and instantly appealing if you like stories about a decent person stuck inside a system that rewards the opposite.
Tom Paolino stars as Dean Alessi, an attorney working in Buffalo’s Lawyer Disciplinary Office. His job is to investigate lawyers who have not upheld the duties they swore to uphold. That alone is enough to make him unpopular, because nobody loves the person whose entire job is to point at the mess and say, yes, that is in fact a mess. Dean is framed as someone who still believes in the idea of public service, even when the world around him is drifting into self interest. The film puts that idea into words more than once, including via Dean’s narration, where he asks the kind of question that probably gets you side eyed at office parties: when did civil service become self service?
Dean is not just dealing with professional hostility. The story also gives him personal grief, with Dean still carrying the loss of his son in a drunk driving accident, and the strain that has left on his marriage. That sorrow sits underneath the plot like a weight on the chest. It also explains why Dean clings so hard to the idea of doing the right thing, because when your world has already been rearranged by something irreversible, you either grab onto principles or you float away.
The main plot kicks in when Dean becomes convinced there is more to a death connected to the office, and that the local District Attorney may be involved in something far worse than professional misconduct. According to the film’s synopsis, Dean disobeys orders and risks his career and his life to expose the truth, and as the bodies pile up, the stakes stop being theoretical and become very real. His ally in the digging is Stu, played by Roderick Garr, a private investigator who gives Dean someone to bounce off when the story needs forward momentum.
One of the Good Ones – An Indie, legal drama/comedy
Tonally, One of the Good Ones aims for a blend of legal drama, mystery, and light comedy. It largely works, even if it does not always land with maximum punch. The comedic bits are there, sometimes in dialogue and sometimes in the absurdity of the personalities orbiting Dean. The mystery and corruption angle gives it a spine, while Dean’s direct addresses to the audience, and the voiceover, give the film a personality that helps it stand out from a straight faced procedural.
That said, this is still a clearly low budget production, and it wears that truth on its sleeve. Some of the filmmaking choices feel more functional than expressive. The cinematography often leans on simple, static setups and basic lighting rather than dynamic blocking or camera movement, which can make certain scenes feel flatter than the material deserves. There are also moments where the focus does not rack to the speaking character until late in the line. I cannot speak to whether that was intentional or accidental, but it is noticeable, and it briefly pulls you out of the scene because you start thinking about the camera instead of the character.
On the plus side, the film keeps things coherent. The legal elements are present without turning into a lecture, and the story does not drown itself in jargon. The narrative is not built on endless twists, but it does have a steady escalation as Dean pushes further than he is supposed to and finds more resistance than he expected. It is more of a dogged investigation than a puzzle box.
Performances are generally solid across the board, with Paolino doing the heavy lifting as Dean. He sells the core idea of the character, which is a man who believes he is doing the right thing even when everyone around him seems to find that irritating. He also has to balance the tone shifts, from grief to determination to occasional humour, and he stays credible through it.
The supporting cast includes Susan Gallagher as Chief Judge Alexandra Krane, Amy Zubieta as Kat Franklin, Josie DiVincenzo as Detective Jackie Miller, and Jacob A. Ware as Sam Marcum, along with a large roster of local cast, reflecting that the production used more than 80 local Western New York people as cast and crew.
Where One of the Good Ones succeeds is in its moral engine. It is a story about what happens when you try to stay decent in a system that nudges you toward compromise. It does not pretend to be bigger than it is, and in a strange way, that honesty becomes part of its charm. Where it comes up short is mostly in polish and boldness. The indie constraints are visible, and the tonal blend, while serviceable, does not always ignite.
Still, if you like grounded indie films that build around a central character with principles, a whiff of conspiracy, and a few knowingly wry touches, One of the Good Ones is worth your time, especially if you enjoy seeing regional filmmaking put Buffalo on the map for something other than wings and winter.
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