“Are You There God, it’s me, Margaret?” REVIEW
“Seventeen” REVIEW
Hailee Steinfield is showing her dramatic side in the latest high school film that ultimately received her first Golden Globe nomination for best actress in a comedy or musical.
Steinfield shines throughout The Edge of Seventeen as the movie opens with her confronting her favorite teacher Mr. Bruner, (played by Woody Harrelson) with confessions of wanting to kill herself. Ultimately the audience is drawn into this witty humor adolescent teenage coming of age story as we travel with her back to when all her troubles began. Nadine (Steinfield) is a 7-year old twin, living in the shadows of her outgoing brother, Darian (Blake Jenner) who barely shows any concern over his sister’s moodiness, her mother (Kyra Sedgwick) cares more for her brother than for her and her only two friends are her father (Eric Keenleyside) who gives her the attention that she lacks from her mother until she witnesses his death as she enters teenage years at thirteen, and a little girl named Krista (Haley Lu Richardson) who she also meets when she’s seven and instantly forms a bond, but will that bond be broken when loves gets in the way?
At a hundred and four minutes run time, The Edge of Seventeen will have you caught up in all the drama of what goes on in the heads of teenagers, everything from school, to dating and adolescence in its purest forms. Though slightly graphic at times, it is a movie to thoroughly enjoy and watch as Steinfield’s performance, both acting as well as narrating her life, is exceptional. Though not a Golden Globe winner, she has already been nominated for 38 awards over the course of her short acting career and received 24 wins for both this film as well as her breakthrough performance in True Grit.
The Edge of Seventeen is rated R and may not be suitable for all ages but it is a performance by a young actress that is worth seeing. It’s still playing in select theaters and is scheduled for Blu-Ray and DVD release on February 14. It’s a great Valentine’s date night movie to remember adolescent years.