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Oct 27, 2017Nursebob rated this title 4.5 out of 5 stars
For her debut feature writer/director Kelly Fremon Craig has channeled the spirit of John Hughes to produce a misfit teen dramedy of surprising depth and candour. Deriving much of her humour from those memories of adolescent awkwardness we all carry around yet never stooping to slapstick or crude innuendo, Craig’s fully fleshed characters live in a real world with real issues—from bad hair to mental health to sexual propriety. Nadine hovers somewhere between whiny teen and troubled woman while older brother Darian quietly suffers through his own problems and mom occasionally goes off the rails (a heartfelt performance from Kyra Sedgwick). Woody Harrelson also stars as Nadine’s history teacher and sounding board—his mordant common sense giving her introverted ego a few much needed slaps—while Hayden Szeto plays a clumsy classmate who sees in Nadine all the things she can’t see in herself. But the film ultimately belongs to Steinfeld, her defensive lashings, self-sabotage, and embarrassingly realistic meltdowns hinting at a deeper vulnerability which touches a chord in those of us who spent our highschool years clinging to the shadows. Nice musical score too, and Vancouver always photographs well.