I understand that many girls have probably gone through a phase like this, and few have probably even gone this far or further, but for this particular character, I did not buy the arc she went through, because it felt incomplete and that she still has a very dark/sexual future ahead of her.
Having her thoughts told through animations around her was very unique and that was easily my favorite part about this film. I found myself disliking every time she was on screen, which is 95% of the film.ĭue to the fact that this film feels very gross and drab, the simple camerawork and subtle visuals were really what stood out to me. Again, this has nothing to do with the portrayal of the character, but more of the character herself. There are many times (although Bel Powley does a great job of portraying her) that Minnie becomes very whiny and annoying. At a mere 102 minutes, I found myself checking my watch many times, as the film dives too far into sexuality to really grasp what this character is going through. Is this a good film? Yes it is, but I found myself almost disliking it more than actually enjoying what was being presented to me.
Having a plot like that is very ballsy, as there is really no levity here. As she has very virginity stripped away, she continues to do so, becoming the school slut and following a path that pretty much very viewer will be against. This film follows Minnie, who is an extreme introvert who will take on any situation as it presents itself. There are times where even the biggest of cinema fans may feel slightly awkward while viewing this picture. If that already sounds hard to watch for you, then I can tell you right now, this film is absolutely not for you. And, in the end, despite how the adults in her life have let her down, and despite all of the difficulties in growing up, we know that she's not only going to be all right, but that she's going to fly.īased off the novel of the same name, written by Phoebe Gloeckner, "The Diary of a Teenage Girl" is a very offbeat indie film about an 18-year-old girl who loses her virginity to her mother's new boyfriend.
#Heller picture this movie movie#
I like how the girl explores her sexuality as a boy might ("Do other people think about fucking as much as I do?"), and doesn't end up pregnant or crushed, even though the object of her affections for much of the movie is 20 years older, which, while cringe-inducing, feels brutally honest. Kristen Wiig is solid as the mom who dispenses inappropriate advice, and who's partying ways don't exactly serve as a great role model.
There is quite a bit of nudity, which can be uncomfortable as the character is 15 years old (though Powley herself was 23), but it doesn't at all feel like exploitation in director Marielle Heller's hands, and seeing a body type that is different from the prescribed Hollywood and fashion-industry definition of 'beauty' is refreshing - for Powley truly is beautiful.Īlexander Skarsgård, who fans of 'True Blood' will recognize, is suitably "confused", conflicted, childish, manipulative, and licentious all at once, and his nuanced performance was very important to making the movie successful. Her diary is also sometimes quite poetic, for example, "It would've been better to have slept and dreamed than to watch the night pass and the slow moon sink."īel Powley turns in a great performance, beautifully balancing the girl and emerging woman within, expressing herself with her eyes, and delivering truth in a wide range of emotional moments, some of which are fairly new ground for mainstream cinema. The animation that is woven into the movie is beautiful, such as when the girl is on an LSD drip and imagines herself to have wings and to be hovering above the room.
#Heller picture this movie free#
Holy shit."ĭespite the statutory rape, drug use, and free use of profanity which may put some people off, this coming-of-age movie is empowering, with several positive messages - embrace your creativity, maintain your self-worth, remember that enjoying sex as a woman doesn't make you a slut, experimentation is ok and you can run away from bad situations, and through it all, you don't need someone else to love you, but you have to love yourself. It's San Francisco in the 1970's, and a single mom's bohemian lifestyle leads to one of her boyfriend's having a sexual relationship with her teenage daughter, who opens the film proudly proclaiming "I had sex today.
0 kommentar(er)
