The Edge of Seventeen

Even though the film has been given an R-rating (mostly for some four letter words that are used throughout the dialogue), I think The Edge of Seventeen should be required viewing for any girl between the ages of 13 and 16, as I'm sure they could learn a lot from it.  Boys of that same age could probably learn from it, also.  This comedic drama about the confusion of adolescence not only has a lot of whip-smart humor and truths, but a lot of bittersweet heart.  I can easily see this becoming a staple for many young viewers when it hits DVD.

What writer-director Kelly Fremon Craig does is hit a lot of familiar teen film notes.  There's the unobtainable guy whom the heroine longs for, the slightly nerdier guy who is friends with the heroine and obviously is the perfect match for her, the teen parties, and of course, the narcissistic idea that all teens have about how everything that happens to them is important, and that popularity and what happens in high school will somehow determine the rest of their lives.  But Craig does all of this with a level of sophistication we seldom see in these kind of movies.  She's looking back at these years with wit and intelligence, and knows how to update these characters in way so that they may not exactly be fresh, but they are a lot more interesting than the norm.  The situations may be familiar, and so are the emotions, but they have been written so well, we don't mind seeing them again.

At the center of the film's success is Hailee Steinfeld, who gave one of the best child performances in recent years with her Oscar-nominated turn in 2010's True Grit, and now delivers probably her best work since then.  She plays Nadine, a girl who is smart in just about everything, except in how to socialize with other people.  Nadine has spent years battling social awkwardness, and we feel it's been a losing battle for a long time, and she's starting to wear down.  At home, things are not much better.  Her dad, who was the glue that held the family together, suffered a heart attack a few years ago.  Ever since then her mom, Mona (Kyra Sedgwick), has been doing her best trying to keep the home running, but often struggles with the responsibility of family and work.  And her older brother Darian (Blake Jenner from Everybody Wants Some!) is the obnoxiously perfect type who is not only handsome and popular, but also seems to succeed at whatever he tries with little effort.

Nadine's sole friend and ally in her battle has been Krista (Haley Lu Richardson), who has been by her side since the Second Grade.  They've been through so much together that it completely shakes Nadine's world when she discovers that, after the two spent the night drinking while Nadine's mom was out of town for the weekend, Krista not only is attracted to her brother Darian, but also slept with him while Nadine was recovering from a hangover.  Nadine sees this as a total betrayal on the part of her friend.  They want her to be happy for them, but she just won't accept it.  She halfheartedly attends a party with them, but quickly bails, and breaks off her friendship with Krista not long after that.  Alone, she turns to the only person who will not only listen to her, but can match her in terms of withering put downs and sarcasm.  That would be her History teacher, Mr. Bruner (Woody Harrelson, wonderfully and comically deadpan here), who acts like he doesn't care about Nadine's problems much, but is usually the one who is always there for her when she needs him.

She finds another ally in Erwin (Hayden Szeto), a fellow student with a not-so secret crush on Nadine, and a passion for making student animated films.  Of the cast, Szeto is the real find here.  I haven't noticed him in anything before, but he immediately grabs your attention with his sweet, funny and charming performance.  He starts out as kind of the nerdy and desperate friend (he dances for joy when Nadine says she will come to his house), but by the end of the film, the screenplay makes him out to be a slightly more confident and strong male figure that Nadine needs in her life.  Naturally, there is also an attractive, unobtainable bad boy that Nadine crushes over, but it is a credit to the movie that it does not hinge on this potential romantic triangle.  And when it does, writer-director Craig does so in a way that feels honest and not gimmicky.

The Edge of Seventeen is often very smart and funny, but it doesn't feel overly so.  This isn't one of those movies where the teenagers are smarter than the adults, and always have some witty one liner to throw out.  The humor comes from the frustration that Nadine feels about the things going on in her life, and how she reacts to them.  I also enjoyed that the movie is more than willing to explore Nadine's faults as well as her positive aspects.  She is wrong a lot in this movie, or can be mean and rude, and the film never seems to be laughing at her.  Instead, it allows us to sympathize with her, and laugh out of recognition of situations we all have been in our youth.  The film's dramatic touches are also well handled, and don't feel like they're manufactured crises.  This is a movie that speaks from experience, but doesn't overdramatize or simplify.

This is a rare instance where I kind of wish the filmmakers had edited the movie down to a PG-13, and just taken out a few curse words that weren't really needed.  I'm afraid the rating will prevent the film from reaching the audience that needs to watch it.  At any rate, this is a great little movie about the awkward adolescent years, and probably one of the better ones to come along in a while.

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