For such high praise I will tell you that this is a predictable movie. It follows many of the conventions we would come to expect about an awkward girl navigating her Junior year of high school. Our heroine, Nadine (Hailee Steinfeld) is an awkward, confrontational girl who has always lived in the shadow of her popular brother, Darian (Blake Jenner, who also starred in "Everybody Wants Some!" earlier this year). Her one friend, Krista, is a source of strength throughout her education, and they grow up as the closest friends. One weekend with their mother out of town, Krista and Darian meet up and soon begin dating. Nadine sees this as an ultimatum: her best friend must choose either her or her brother. There can be no compromise. She chooses the boy.
What follows is a descent into the awkward stages of high school that so many films in the past have glossed over. In the years before college, social status is what makes or breaks you. If you don't have friends you have nothing, and with Nadine losing all her chips in one fell swoop, she is forced to analyze her life and what little meaning is left in it. Her mother, a control freak with a few shining moments but little knowledge of how to raise a girl, is oftentimes absent and unhelpful in her advice to her young daughter. Her father, who passed away when Nadine was 13, was the one source of solace in her life, and now it would appear that she is unhinged.
So begins a fiery relationship with her teacher, Mr Bruner (Woody Harrelson as one of the great teachers in movies). She criticizes his lectures and only seeks to belittle his efforts. Bruner, in turn, dishes it back to Nadine and makes fun of her lack of friends and social status. It's a complicated dynamic that eventually shapes itself into one of respect as Mr Bruner slowly fills that gap left in the absence of her father. Along with the professor, Nadine begins chatting with a classmate, Erwin, who is clearly infatuated with her in the most lovingly-awkward portrayal. Nadine only has eyes for Nick, the hottie rebel who spent time in juvie and works at the local pet store.
There is a strong identity I felt with Nadine, a girl who hides behind a rough facade to protect a more fragile heart. Hailee Steinfeld (herself an Oscar nominee for "True Grit") hits all the right notes and with any luck would return to the Oscar ceremony for a richly-deserved nomination playing a young girl simply navigating the hardships of maturation. Her delivery of the dialogue presents some of the funniest moments, and her timing is impeccable. Kelly Fremon Craig, a first-time director no less, dazzles with a thought-provoking script that has all the workings and understandings of a tenured filmmaker.
There's something very special about "Edge of Seventeen" that isn't blatantly apparent when I rethink it. It's a straightforward comedy with the expected rising action, an emotional climax, and a happy ending with a bow on top. Predictable, yes, but boring, not in a million years. I think there is a lot that audiences could identify with, and I'm sure that accounts for it's enormous success among critics and audiences so far. This isn't a story that sugarcoats childhood and youth and makes it something inconsequential. This is a story where we understand the full weight of any given situation and find ourselves utterly invested in the outcome. That's all thanks to a great cast and talented writer/director. What an achievement.
No comments:
Post a Comment