This past weekend I got the pleasure of taking a friend of mine to go see the new movie, "Edge of Seventeen." After hearing rave reviews and seeing the preview a couple hundred times on Youtube, we had to go see what this one was all about. The movie featured Hailee Steinfield, an up and coming pop singer, as well as Woody Harrelson (and a few other newcomers). Unsure what exactly to expect, we sat back in recliners with popcorn in hand and enjoyed the film.
"Edge of Seventeen" focuses on a girl named Nadine, who recently turned 17, and goes about the course of events that transpires throughout her life. Now before you think, “oh it is just another teen flick,” this one I’m pleased to admit does the teenage journey justice. Things aren’t all peaches and cream for Nadine. In fact, in many cases, it is the exact opposite. She struggles through some loss, a tough family life, bullies, boys who only desire to objectify her, friends who betray her, feelings of insufficiency, and insecurity.
What was really well done about "Edge of Seventeen" is that it wasn’t the cookie cutter "girl-meets-super-hot-boy," and they fall in love, or "rising-superstar-athlete-trumps-all" type of high school movie. "Edge of Seventeen" was real, and down to the nitty gritty of what one experiences on the road, from growing up to maturing into a young adult. There were quirks and laughs and moments of joy, but alongside it was struggles and moments of just average adequacy rather than over the top scenarios. That realness is what I believe made the movie.
In films nowadays, it can be so easy to fabricate things to either make them seem more glamorous or more shocking. In each particular instance, the end product of what is depicted on the screen is far from the picture of what life actually looks like. Real life is different from the fantasy that film often provides. To students and young kids today, looking to the media for a sense of inspiration, entertainment, or guidance, it is important that what is being shown actually resembles what they may encounter. I don’t want to give any specific plot details away, but in "Edge of Seventeen" the movie captures what they likely will experience or throughout the course of their life may run into someone who has encountered such things. The end does not offer an unreasonable solution to these difficulties either -- it simply walks through them and shows with enough support, patience, and the character's life goes on; there are lots of lessons and beautiful things that can come out of the journey. I highly recommend this movie and if you do see it comment below and let me know what your thoughts are. Enjoy!
