I can't imagine the hell Kelly Fremon Craig had to go through to get this little movie made.
Another teenage, high school comedy...and you want to produce this during the era of film where rom-coms go to die?
Talk about commitment to an idea. Prior to The Edge of Seventeen, she had written only one, full-length film -- Post Grad, which has a 5.3 rating on IMDb and an astonishingly low 8% critics score on Rotten Tomatoes -- and since it bombed, it took seven years to get her next screenplay made. Somehow, even though she had never been behind the camera, Fremon Craig ended up directing The Edge of Seventeen, which is perhaps the most honest movie I've ever seen about teens.
SPOILERS AHEAD.
There really isn't much to the story -- Nadine (an electrifying Hailee Steinfeld) lives with her mother Mona (a neurotic Kyra Sedgwick) and brother Darian (Blake Jenner, an absolute natural), and he's the favorite child. Nadine was daddy's little girl, but unfortunately her father (Eric Keenleyside - is that really a movie star's name?) passed away suddenly when she was young. That understandably left the household in shambles, and Darian's maturity and stability make him much easier for Mona to deal with.
Nadine's saving grace is Krista (Haley Lu Richardson, making her second appearance on this list) her lifelong best friend. Krista always centers Nadine when things are rumbling off the tracks. I believe Nadine describes her as "an angel."
That is, of course, until Krista sleeps with Darian.
That dramatic event causes the acceleration of Nadine's downward spiral. But like I said, there really isn't much to the story. The beauty of this film is in the honesty and skill of Fremon Craig's writing, and the perfect symmetry of the knockout performances by Steinfeld, Richardson, Jenner, Sedgwick, Woody Harrelson, Hayden Szeto (as the other angel on Nadine's shoulder) and Alexander Calvert (as the devil).
Steinfeld is simply fantastic. She came off as limited and annoying as a supporting character in Pitch Perfect 2, yet somehow here -- just a year later -- she's a powerhouse leading lady who should have been nominated for Best Actress. Ellen Page got the Oscar nom for Juno, and that role was much more of a gimmick. I like Juno, and I like Page, but Steinfeld's performance in Edge is more naturalistic and relatable to an everyday teen. On the whole, Steinfeld projects better as a long-term movie star: She's much better-looking and has a wider range of skills than Page. The latter hasn't been able to repeat her leading-lady success; whereas I think Steinfeld can.
Richardson and Jenner are rising stars. They make for a cute couple in this film, and individually, you can see why their names are buzzing around Hollywood. Jenner nabbed the lead in Richard Linklater's Everybody Wants Some!! (well-received with an 86% score on Rotten Tomatoes) and his upcoming film American Animals is getting good early reviews.
Richardson played a key role in M. Night Shyamalan's career-resurrecting Split, followed by a successful turn in Kogonada's Columbus. Both she and Jenner are naturals. Richardson has a warm, friendly smile and never overdoes anything. She's content settling into her role within the ensemble and shining without upstaging her co-stars. I think we'll be seeing her for a long, long time.
My reaction to Jenner in Edge was similar to my reaction to Lucas Hedges in Manchester By the Sea and Ansel Elgort in The Fault in Our Stars. If you've been watching films long enough, you know a movie star when you see one. And there are different ways to do it -- Elgort is a classic charmer, all smiles and looks and winks. Hedges is tricky; he never seems like he's acting at all, yet he can ping-pong between normal, everyday behavior and legitimate dramatic acting. Jenner is like Richardson. He doesn't overdo anything. His behavior and mannerisms scream likable guy. And at the end of the day, that's the key for actors, right? If you ain't likable, you ain't stickin' around.
Szeto (as Erwin, one of Nadine's love interests) is quirky, offbeat and quite funny. What he does in this film is a bit of a shtick; so I'm not sure he'll have the same long-term sustainability as Steinfeld, Jenner and Richardson, but he nails this part. He was absolutely perfect for the role, and Kostenbauder must have seen that from the get-go, because Szeto was the first actor cast in this movie. His chemistry with Steinfeld is fun, and he's just one of those kids you can't help but root for.
Interestingly enough, the veteran actors -- Harrelson and Sedgwick -- probably put together the weakest performances in the film. Not that they are bad -- in fact, they are actually quite good -- but the young, rising stars don't seem to be trying as hard for our attention.
Harrelson is such a chameleon -- I mean, how do you play Willie Schumann in Wag the Dog (a dangerous, funny, slow-witted supporting character), Galaxia in Anger Management (an over-the-top drag queen), Carson Wells in No Country for Old Men (a serious, well-spoken and wise bounty hunter), Tommy in Friends with Benefits (a gay art director for GQ, comic relief), Steve Schmidt in Game Change (Sarah Palin's overwhelmed campaign manager, a straight role) and Harlan DeGroat in Out of the Furnace (a despicable, certified psychopath of a villain)? -- that he knows exactly what he's doing as Mr. Bruner in Edge. He's going for understated laughs, and it plays that way. He's actually too big of a star for the role. His scenes sometimes take you out of the genuine, complicated world created by Fremon Craig, Steinfeld, Richardson and Jenner. But, like I said, Harrelson is still good.
Sedgwick overplays her combustibility a bit, but she's also good. I like her scene during the denouement, when she's trying to figure out the right thing to text her daughter. Fremon Craig closes the loop of that character well.
In the end, The Edge of Seventeen can serve as a great lesson for teens who watch closely, and want to grow. The world doesn't revolve around you. Bad things happen. The question isn't whether or not you can unload all of your problems onto someone else.
The question is...when everything seems to be going wrong, can you remain a good person?
** JOHNNY FRO'S RATING: 9 out of 10 **
Late-Night Boredom's Updated Rankings:
1. Up in the Air (9.5/10)
2. Steve Jobs (9.5/10)
3. Stay (9/10)
4. Gone Girl (9/10)
5. The Edge of Seventeen (9/10)
6. Tape (9/10)
2. Steve Jobs (9.5/10)
3. Stay (9/10)
4. Gone Girl (9/10)
5. The Edge of Seventeen (9/10)
6. Tape (9/10)
10. Split (8.5/10)
11. Bad Moms (8.5/10)
12. Basquiat (8.5/10)
13. Moonlight (8/10)
14. The Revenant (8/10)
22. Joy (5.5/10)
23. La La Land (5/10)
24. Why Him? (3.5/10) - No review available
25. The Program (3/10)
26. Shut In (2/10) - No review available
24. Why Him? (3.5/10) - No review available
25. The Program (3/10)
26. Shut In (2/10) - No review available
27. Rings (1.5/10)
28. Mother's Day (1.5/10)
28. Mother's Day (1.5/10)
Reviews to Come...
Hell or High Water
Sunshine Cleaning
Zero Dark Thirty
The Box
Annabelle: Creation
The Conjuring 2
Baby Driver
Body of Lies
The Box
Annabelle: Creation
The Conjuring 2
Baby Driver
Body of Lies
Untraceable
The Wonder Boys
Jackie Brown
Mean Streets
Nerve
The Hateful Eight
The Seven Five
Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates
How to Be Single
Deadpool
Ratatouille
The Spectacular Now
The Visit
Loving
Nocturnal Animals
The Purge: Election Year
And more...
The Visit
Loving
Nocturnal Animals
The Purge: Election Year
And more...
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