There is such a plethora of teen movies these days that it can be tough for any of them to feel truly incisive — many seem to still be playing off the same cliches John Hughes gave us over thirty years ago now. Did you know that teenagers can feel alienated? No way! Which makes writer-director Kelly Fremon Craig’s The Edge of Seventeen a remarkably pleasant surprise. It makes use of plenty of coming-of-age tropes, but grounds them in an incredibly astute script which finds the lighter side of teenage awkwardness without treating it with disrespect, and gives us one of the most-well rounded, sympathetic teenage girl leads in cinema history. Some side characters come off a little hackneyed, and the filmmaking chops aren’t quite up to scratch, but these issues are largely forgotten in the midst of a movie that understands teenage confusion as well as any, with a revelatory lead performance from Hailee Steinfeld.
The movie opens with Steinfeld’s protagonist, Nadine, in severe crisis mode, before rewinding a little to fill in the blanks. Her mother can’t handle her, she has a resentment of confident people due to social anxiety and previous bullying, and since her father died four years ago the only person left who understands her is her best friend Krista — who quickly begins to date her brother. All typical elements, but it’s the way these are handled that really shine — the movie creates a world in which there are no heroes or villains, and allows Nadine to be a very realistically shitty person while also treating her emotions with complete respect and allowing her to eventually see beyond the edge of her nose without resorting to stereotypes.
It’s this authentic depiction of teenage narcissism that proves to be the movie’s biggest strength. Because seriously, in many ways, Nadine absolutely sucks. She doesn’t understand how her actions affect others, is frank and brazen to a fault, and hates the rest of her generation, believing herself to be an ‘old soul’ who would be better born in a different time. That last part especially is such a genuine teen cliche that I couldn’t stop howling with laughter during the scene where it’s mentioned. Yet never at any point does the script look down on her or make her the target of mockery — it’s made clear early on she has genuine abandonment issues, and the whole story is completely sympathetic to the self-disgust and depression she feels. She’s an asshole, but it’s totally understandable given her circumstances, and the way in which she gradually learns to see that others have their own issues and how her actions affect others feels completely earned. This could come across badly with the wrong actress, but Steinfeld absolutely inhabits the character and makes it hardly feel like acting at all — which, in many ways, it probably isn’t. But whether drawn from experience or not, the character feels entirely lived-in.
While the other characters don’t get the development Nadine does, they’re mostly very well-rounded and sympathetic. It would have been easy to make her best friend and brother into villains or caricatures, yet their connection is genuine — honestly, they’re extremely cute together. Blake Jenner brings his natural charm and charisma to the role of brother Darian, building on his lead performance in Everybody Wants Some!! to create a solid portrayal of a young man who has had to take on too much responsibility too quickly. Kyra Sedgwick, who I had previously only seen as a stern taskmaster in Brooklyn Nine-Nine is also excellent as Nadine’s mother, while her confusion and anger over her lack of understanding and ability to connect with her daughter is expressed masterfully — her last scene especially is very subtle yet left me misty-eyed. Woody Harrelson adds some nice levity to the proceedings as a teacher and confidante for Nadine, and it’s a good touch to include a character who humours her constantly without ever indulging her.
However, not every character is quite so strong. I really wish we’d seen more of best friend Krista — although her disappearance from much of the movie makes sense considering the story, it means the idea of the broken bond between the two is one of the more artificial elements (plus Haley Lu Richardson is fantastic). I would have especially liked to see more of her home life, given how we’re led to believe the two were a crutch for each other earlier in their childhoods. The two potential love interests for Nadine, meanwhile, are about as stale as it gets. We have the crush she knows nothing about, with her feelings largely based on his mystique, and the kind, artistic, shy classmate who blatantly likes her who she initially ignores and is somewhat insensitive to. OH MAN I WONDER WHAT WILL HAPPEN THERE. Literally from the first second Erwin, the kind classmate, appears on screen, his entire arc is immediately apparent.
I’m aware that it’s a huge cliche to say a movie truly understands what it’s like to be a teenager, but I was very impressed with the tone The Edge of Seventeen struck. It feels like it lives in the moment, or on the surface, in exactly the way teens do, and is realistic to their minute-to-minute changing emotions. At times it has a propulsive, almost rebellious attitude, particularly in the beginning. Yet these same emotions are what allow it to present a movie where nobody is really in the wrong, yet we understand perfectly while everyone is hurt and confused. The writing mostly stays down-to-earth and solid — it is heightened for more humour, of course, but the performances especially keep it grounded. Each character has a strong point of view, with almost nobody fully in the wrong at any point. There are still some ultra predictable beats, though, and when we get to the climax and a couple of big speeches, the hit rate is about 50/50 — one is excellent, but the climactic monologue from Nadine feels somewhat forced, with it becoming almost too expository and telling us more than it needs to.
All this and I’ve barely even touched on the comedy — this is a super funny movie, with many laugh-out-loud moments. It doesn’t rely on large, overdone set-pieces, but instead on the character’s wit and relatable teenage moments — so much of the dialogue is abrupt and to-the-point in that classic no-filter teenage way. It does an excellent job of adding laughs while coming from real human behaviour. The two biggest “funny” moments, involving an awkwardly sexual Facebook message and animated student film, are actively hilarious and work well in context, managing not to distract from the tone. However, while she has a strong command of the tone, other elements show Craig’s inexperience as a director. A lot of the time the cinematography feels more like a means to an end than something that had time and effort lavished on it, featuring generic framing and never really rising above competency. The most fast-paced, montage-y scenes are on a higher level, but they could also be put down to the excellent editing — along with the production design, the strongest element of the movie technically.
But any technical limitations seem moot compared to what the movie achieves in its writing and performances. The Edge of Seventeen is perhaps too slight and inconsequential to be an all-time great, yet the empathy it spreads in all directions and the real truths it never loses sight of ensure it’ll be one worth remembering.
