"The Edge of Seventeen" (2016)

Rating: R:15

Genre: Comedy, Drama

Directed By: Kelly Fremon Craig

Written By: Kelly Fremon Craig

Released: November 18^th 2016

Runtime: 98 minutes

Studio: STX Entertainment

Summary:

Everyone knows that growing up is hard, and life is no easier for high school junior Nadine (Hailee Steinfeld), who is already at peak awkwardness when her all-star older brother Darian (Blake Jenner) starts dating her best friend Krista (Haley Lu Richardson). All at once, Nadine feels more alone than ever, until an unexpected friendship with a thoughtful teen (Hayden Szeto) gives her a glimmer of hope that things just might not be so terrible after all.

Review:

This is not a bad film actually.  I went into it sceptically but I was pleasantly surprised.

Hailee Steinfeld plays a character who is incredibly cynical and desperately deflated towards life. She’s had her fair share of woes growing up as an awkward adolescent. The cards she was dealt were not all that kind. They don’t seem to be reshuffling anytime soon. She hates a lot of people and gives them a hard time. Particularly her brother. She’s quite bitter. 

Is this the best character to have as the lead in a film? Well it works here. She wasn’t always the most likable, sometimes her downbeat attitude and whining about life became annoying to watch, but I guess that can also be what makes her character relatable in many ways. We all think a lot of how she feels, she’s just fed enough to say it outright. And there’s nothing terribly wrong with that. She’s growing up and has a lot to learn. That’s what these films are all about, right? 

She has her friends and as the film goes on she learns to appreciate them more than she had been doing so. It’s a good cast. All engaging and work well together to give us an enjoyable film. It won't be remembered as a quintessential teen movie like those given to us by John Hughes, but credit where credit is due, it's not too shabby either. 

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