BrendanW 
Being a teenager sucks. I guess at this point I should use the word “sucked” since that is no longer in the present tense for me due to being three decades old. Ew. I just put that into words on a page. That hurt. Anyhoo! There have been plenty of films focusing on growing up and the awkwardness that occurs during that transition between being a teenager and being an adult. Some of them take the goofy comedy route while others adopt a more observational and honest style of showing the ups and downs of what it’s like to have all these wonderful insecurities that we all love so much.
Nadine Franklin (Hailee Steinfeld) at age 7 is having a pretty normal life. She’s not nearly as popular as her brother is at school and she has a strained relationship with her mother (Kyra Sedgwick) but she is very close with her loving father (Eric Keenleyside) and it’s enough to help her get by in life. She also has a terrific relationship with her best friend Krista (Ava Grace Cooper). Unfortunately, all good things must come to an end. One night while driving home, Nadine’s father suffers a fatal heart attack and it devastates the family. Three years later, Nadine is 17 and after a night of drinking, she catches her brother in bed with her best friend. Shit rolls downhill and luckily Nadine’s no-nonsense teacher (Woody Harrelson) is there to listen to her problems.
This is a terrific and emotionally effective film. The writer/director of the film, Kelly Fremon Craig, has created a world that feels like it’s close to home for her because of the genuine, personal nature of the script. These are all problems that have happened to people of this age and the way in which the characters deal with them feels so natural and realistic. There is no simple answer to anything in the film. There is no blatant life lesson. There are real revelations and some of them hurt while some of them will hit very close to home. That is the power of a great script. I would say that it hearkens back to John Hughes movies of the 1980s but, and this is not a knock on those particular films, I thought this movie was a lot less goofy and the acting was stronger.
The biggest strengths lie with the acting. Hailee Steinfeld is an excellent choice for the lead. For starters, she is only 19 so having someone close to the actual age of the teenage character is a major plus. She is so believable as the character that I would be astonished if it didn’t compare to actual aspects of her personality in some way, shape or form. She is in nearly every scene and for such a young actress and being diminutive in physical stature, she makes up for it by having such an incredibly large presence on-screen. Woody Harrelson is another very strong performer and one of the few actors that can go big and also subtle when the role calls for it. Here he is very low-key but all of his characteristics come out with carefully-crafted pauses and facial reactions. The man has not nearly as many scenes as Steinfeld but he still feels like the second lead. Blake Jenner is another actor who I have been noticing and appreciating as of late ever since I saw him in Everybody Wants Some!! He plays Steinfeld’s brother and could’ve done it in a stereotypical bully/big brother type performance but he feels just as complex and nuanced as the leads. Kyra Sedgwick also must take a role that requires a lot of high-strung emotions and crying and pulls it off while still remaining likeable. Big shoutout to Haley Lu Richardson as Krista and Hayden Szeto as Erwin, who don’t occupy a large amount of screen time but excel when they are on-screen. Hayden in particular has some very funny moments with his awkward flirting and mumbling while having some sweet chemistry with Steinfeld. It can be said of all of the actors that they all have extremely complex characters and a lot to work with that probably helped their process a great deal.
The film is also very funny! While it excels as a drama, it also has some great comic timing that mostly come out of the situations as well as some hilarious lines, particularly in voiceover by Steinfeld. Does the film have any flaws? Not really. I suppose the way in which the film comes to a conclusion is a bit tidy compared to the rest of the film but I’m not going to dock points for that because it still doesn’t feel like a cheat. When it comes to the film’s humour, the best scenes are between Steinfeld and Harrelson. It almost feels like she’s trying to use him as a sounding board so she can get some kind of reaction from some sort of authoritative male figure after her father passed but he won’t kowtow and tell her what she wants to hear. His dismissive remarks make her laugh most of the time though and even when she gets upset, she is back later that day or the next one to report to him her latest problems. The final emotional breakdown in the film is also handled so well that parts of it make us laugh at the same time as cry; it involves a shitty car and a lot of conflicting emotions.
I can not say too much more because this is a film that just unfolds and needs to be seen to be appreciated. It is more character than plot-driven and is one of the best coming-of-age films I have seen in a long time.
RATING: *****
Rating System:
* (Brutal; the worst rating)
** (Some elements keep it from being awful but still not very good)
*** (Completely watchable; a rental as old-timers might say)
**** (Great film with a few things here and there keeping it from being perfect)
***** (Flawless; a true achievement)
