With the release of only her second film this weekend, writer-director Kelly Fremon Craig instantly became a filmmaker that I eagerly watch to see what she does next. Having not yet seen her sophomore feature, an adaptation of the 1970 Judy Blume novel “Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret,” Craig made such a strong impression on me with her directorial debut that she ranks (in my humble opinion) among one of the handful of young/new directors to watch out for. The movie that hit me so hard as to leave this kind of impression years later? It’s none other than the 2016 coming-of-age dramedy The Edge of Seventeen.
Why is this movie worth your time? Keep reading to find out. 😊 What’s It About [NOTE: This section contains minor spoilers for “The Edge of Seventeen.” If you’d rather see the film for yourself, skip to the next section.] The protagonist of The Edge of Seventeen is Nadine (Hailee Steinfeld), a temperamental and self-isolating teenage girl whose only healthy relationship is with her best friend Krista (Haley Lu Richardson). However, a drunken sexual liaison between Krista and popular kid/Nadine’s older brother Darian (Blake Jenner) creates a rift in their enduring friendship and sets Nadine off on a downward spiral of self-destruction and self-discovery. Along the steps of her journey, Nadine makes half-hearted attempts to reach out for advice from people in her life. Notably, she rejects a suitor-turned-friend Erwin Kim (Hayden Szeto), pines for upperclassman Nick Mossman (Alexander Calvert), and develops an awkward (inappropriate) friendship with her teacher Max Bruner (Woody Harrelson). However, her rather off-putting and abrasive personality combines with her insecurities to make for some hilarious antics but also some emotionally intense moments with both her peers and her widowed mother Mona (Kyra Sedgwick). Ultimately, The Edge of Seventeen tells the story of a young woman growing into her own and realizing what she cares about most. Why It’s Worth Watching Given that cliché summary, you might expect The Edge of Seventeen to be just another standard coming-of-age flick that touches on the same themes and utilizes similar plot elements as any of them. But to assume so would be greatly underestimating the sheer amount of talent on display in this film. At its core, the strength of the movie is Kelly Fremon Craig’s awareness of her own strengths & playing into them. Namely, as a first-time director and talented screenwriter, she relies on her incredibly poignant and genuine dialogue (performed by the very talented cast assembled under her supervision) to serve as the backbone of the film. Not that her directing is bad by any means, but it’s certainly not the most original piece of cinema in that sense. However, it doesn’t need to be. The Edge of Seventeen shines in its writing which is more than enough to make it a solid coming-of-age dramedy. But great dialogue & situations for the characters to get entangled with are only as good as the actors bringing it all to life. And while the supporting cast (both young and old) all do well here, the undeniable standout is the great Hailee Steinfeld. As an unabashed huge fan of Steinfeld’s acting chops, I stand by the fact that her turn as Nadine in The Edge of Seventeen is on par with the best work of her career in the Coen Brothers’ True Grit and the Apple TV+ series Dickinson. Given the director’s great dialogue, Steinfeld brings to life one of the most relatable, down-to-earth, and genuine teenage lead character that I’ve seen in a film in the past decade (if not longer). Simply put, her and Crag seem like a great pairing and I can only hope that they team up again in a future project. Honestly, I don’t have much else to say about The Edge of Seventeen. Mainly because I think the writing, directing, and lead performance do more than enough to sell it. On top of that, though, these elements come together to actually transcend the familiar trappings of the coming-of-age flick that I’m pretty aware of by now. But, if you pick only one more movie from this genre to watch for the rest of your life, I don’t think you can go wrong with The Edge of Seventeen. It’s funny. It’s heartfelt. It captures the messy travails of adolescence in a way that many films like this can only dream of. What more can I say? 😊 Have I convinced you to check out Kelly Fremon Craig’s The Edge of Seventeen? What’s a movie that you feel is underappreciated? What opinions of mine do you find absolutely ridiculous? Let me know in the comments below. Until next time, this has been… Yours Truly, Amateur Analyst
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Image by Vinson Tan ( 楊 祖 武 ) from Pixabay If you’re at all familiar with the biggest names in the history of anime filmmaking, there is arguably no name bigger than Hayao Miyazaki. A co-founder of the acclaimed Japanese animation house Studio Ghibli, he has directed several movies considered the best of the anime genre from the charming coming-of-age tale My Neighbor Totoro to the Oscar-winning fantasy drama Spirited Away. However, in recent years, several other anime directors have emerged & begun making their stamp on the genre: Mamoru Hosoda with Wolf Children and the Oscar-nominated Mirai, Naoko Yamada with A Silent Voice, and Masaaki Yuasa with Ride Your Wave and Inu-Oh. Just to name a few. 😊
However, if there’s one filmmaker that many anime fans agree is “the next Miyazaki,” it is perhaps none other than Makoto Shinkai. Having come onto the scene with films like The Place Promised in Our Early Days and 5 Centimeters per Second, Shinkai cemented his place with the 2016 romantic fantasy film Your Name that remains the third highest-grossing Japanese film (both domestically and worldwide) of all time. And since his newest film, Suzume, debuts stateside this weekend I thought it would be perfect timing for me to shine a spotlight on one of my favorite Shinkai films: the 2013 drama The Garden of Words. Why is this movie worth your time? Keep reading to find out. 😊 What’s It About [NOTE: This section contains minor spoilers for “The Garden of Words.” If you’d rather see the film for yourself, skip to the next section.] With an abbreviated runtime of 46 minutes, The Garden of Words follows two protagonists: the truant student/aspiring shoemaker Takao Akizuki (Blake Shepard) and the self-isolating young adult Yukari Yukino (Maggie Flecknoe). As the rainy season in Tokyo sets in, Takao and Yukari have several chance encounters at Shinjuku Gyo-en National Garden. During these encounters, Takao opens up to Yukari about his passion for shoemaking (including making her a custom pair of shoes). Yukari, on the other hand, remains closed-off about her own life (not even revealing her name to him). When the new school year starts, however, Takao has several realizations about not only Yukari’s true identity but also his feelings for her in spite of the truth about her. Why It’s Worth Watching As I said in the previous section, The Garden of Words is under an hour long (barely a feature film by some people’s standards). And yet, by the time the credits roll, the characters & story that Shinkai tells feel as fully developed as most movies that spin their wheels at over two hours long. Unsurprisingly, the animation deserves much of the credit for this. For those of you have seen Shinkai’s visual style (particularly in recent years with films like Your Name and Weathering with You), his masterful command of using animation to create a vibrant world that feels lived in and grounded will not surprise you in the slightest. With this film, I particularly appreciated the visualization of rainfall as both an aesthetically impeccable part of the frame but also a thematically relevant element of the melancholic tone and narrative. Combined with the lush greenery of Shinkai’s photorealistic take on Shinjuku Gyo-en National Garden in Tokyo, The Garden of Words is certainly not lacking in the visual department. On that note, Shinkai always ensures that the animation is adding to the core story of these two people rather than being the star of the show in an overwhelming fashion. Make no mistake that The Garden of Words is a mature examination of how different growing up can be for different people as well as our need for companionship with fellow humans. And the heart of that story lies with his protagonists, whose burgeoning tease of an offbeat yet believable affection for one another helps elevate Shinkai’s message about the importance of having people who care about you in your life is vital to personal well-being. All of this would be impressive in a two-hour film. But the fact that The Garden of Words accomplishes all of this in a mere 46 minutes elevates Shinkai’s work above many other stories like it. Simply put, his reliance on subtle expressions of emotional development for both the main characters via efficient dialogue and stunning visual cues is what makes this movie (in my humble opinion) one of Shinkai’s best pieces of art and better than many other anime flicks that I’ve seen. Have I convinced you to check out Makoto Shinkai’s The Garden of Words? What’s a movie that you feel is underappreciated? What opinions of mine do you find absolutely ridiculous? Let me know in the comments below. Until next time, this has been… Yours Truly, Amateur Analyst |
Austin McManusI have no academic or professional background in film production or criticism; I simply love watching and talking about movies. Archives
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