Coming Of Age

“Eighth Grade” and Adolescence as Performance

by

Bo Burham’s Eighth Grade is a coming-of-age story for a digital generation. But even though young Kayla Day (Elsie Fisher) must mature her way through a world of Snapchat and vlogs and the other trappings of Generation Z, her struggle is still timeless. Awkwardness knows no timestamp, and anxiety existed long before YouTube. Eighth Grade … Read more

Autobiography and Family Drama in “Lady Bird”

by

Greta Gerwig’s Lady Bird is a stirring coming-of-age story focusing on the relationship between a high school senior and her mother. Saoirse Ronan plays Christine, but insists that everyone call her “Lady Bird”. Her relationship with her mother, played by the excellent Laurie Metcalf, is fraught with complications – just like any mother-daughter relationship. Gerwig’s … Read more

“Call Me by Your Name” Showcases the Tenderness and Torture of a First Love

by

Call Me by Your Name is a tender and warm coming of age story that beautifully captures that peculiar mixture of melancholy and exhilaration that so often accompanies a first love. Set in Italy in the 1980s, it is a subtle, sensuous, and gorgeous film. The pacing is pastoral and languid, lending the characters a … Read more

“Spider-Man: Homecoming” Does Whatever a Spider Can to Be Unique and Fun

by

Though he has only a pair of independent films to his name, director Jon Watts (Clown, Cop Car) sure knows his way around a friendly neighborhood Spider-man.  The product of a team-up between Sony and Marvel Studios, Spider-man: Homecoming places the iconic webslinger in high school.  This choice dictates many aspects of the film, from … Read more

Fantastic Catharsis in J. A. Bayona’s Phenomenal “A Monster Calls”

by

In J.A. Bayona’s A Monster Calls, the director mixes the hyper-reality of the agonizing struggles of a young boy named Conor O’Malley with a vibrant fantasy world involving a titanic tree monster.  Like in Bayona’s previous feature El Orfanato (The Orphanage), reality and fantasy are blended together in fascinating ways, until it is not quite clear precisely what we are looking at.  Though certainly a daunting task, Bayona and his performers manage to tell an engaging coming-of-age story about grief, coping, and the power of storytelling.

Read more

The Edge of Seventeen – A Bittersweet and Sarcastic Exploration of Teenage Self-Discovery

by

In her directorial debut, Kelly Fremon Craig has nailed the awkward world of teenage angst in The Edge of Seventeen.  Starring Academy Award Nominee Hailee Steinfeld, this coming-of-age film showcases some incredible acting talent, a real command of language, a distinctive comedic voice, and strong plotting elements.  Though that peculiar brand of teenage ennui is apparent, there is an undeniable emotion and heart at the core of this story.  Sometimes sad and angry, other times exalted and jubilant – and then right back to sad and angry, The Edge of Seventeen belongs right beside the classic coming-of-age films for portraying the challenge of growing up with practically perfect execution.

Read more

“American Honey” – A Strong and Sweet Hybrid Stuffed with Singular Style

by

In American Honey, writer-director Andrea Arnold crafts a coming-of-age story about teenage wanderlust that practically feels like a documentary.  The film is a peculiar slice of life, both immersive and engrossing, and while watching it you feel as though you are just another member of the rag-tag crew.  The camerawork and a score driven by pop music enhance the realism of the film.  The story focuses around a group of young people who sell magazine subscriptions door-to-door.  Full of an ensemble cast of mostly non-actors, American Honey wanders through life with dubious morals, sexual and emotional exploration, and the pace of a buddy road trip movie – just with about a dozen buddies.

Read more

“Sing Street” – a Great Modern Musical with Heart

by

Leaning heavily on his music video roots, John Carney has concocted a captivating coming-of-age story in Sing Street.  Though populated by a cadre of lesser-known actors, there are solid performances all around, and absolutely wonderful musical pieces.  It is tangentially reminiscent of a small-scope Almost Famous, complete with a young man exploring the world of music, but in this case it is as a creator and not as a journalist.  Further, Sing Street is much more family-life focused, and there is a decided follow-your-dreams lean to the theme of the film.  But the undoubted strength of the film is its employment of music.  Carney uses music for everything:  characterization, relationship-building, thematic statements, and much, much more.  Plus, the pieces are drop-dead fantastic, and the majority of the score is diegetic, which aids the realism of the film.  Taken together, it is clear that Sing Street will contend with the very best films of 2016.

Read more

Taika Waititi’s “Hunt for the Wilderpeople” is a Coming-of-Age Farce with Genuine Heart

by

Wisconsin Film Festival Opening Night

New Zealand director Taika Waititi  has created a magnificently funny coming-of-age film in Hunt for the Wilderpeople.  Most known for the HBO series Flight of the Conchords and the mockumentary What We Do in the Shadows, Waititi has also directed more standard narrative-based films like Boy and Eagle vs. Shark.  Hunt for the Wilderpeople falls in this category, as it tells the story of an orphan named Ricky being introduced to a new foster family on the edge of the New Zealand bush.

Read more

“Dope”: The High-Tech Screwball Noir

by

Writer and director Rick Famuyiwa opens his film Dope with a clear homage to Quentin Tarantino’s Pulp Fiction. Both films begin with a title card sporting definitions of the film’s title. Three definitions unveil:

  1. noun: a drug taken illegally for recreational purposes
  2. noun: a stupid person
  3. slang: excellent. Used as a generalized term of approval

dope

Read more