The Edge Of Seventeen

This review may contain spoilers!

A really good story about growing up an outsider, played brilliantly by up and comer Hailee Steinfeld. I would give The Edge Of Seventeen an 8.5/10.

The plot of the film centres around Nadine, a girl who exists on the social fringes of school life and who has grown up dealing with the loss of her father in recent years. The immediate focus of the film is observing Nadine deal with the revelation that her best (and only) friend has started dating her brother, she now feels more alone than ever and spirals down a turbulent and self-destructive path of self-discovery. The film plays fast and loose with a satirical tone, making this film really funny and entertaining to watch - you'll be hooked throughout. The cinematography is really intimate, the shots keep you close to Nadine and you're always very aware of her mentality and reactions because of this. The soundtrack for the film is great and has a lot of range, I think there's a good blend here of classic rock with modern pop but it all works to show the different states of mind Nadine goes through in the film.

Haley Lu Richardson, who played Krista, has a great deal with chemistry with Steinfeld and you are immediately sold on their closeness as best friends; Richardson also brings a strong dimension to her role when she so fiercely affirms her intention to keep dating Jenner's character. Blake Jenner, who played Darian, is an instantly charismatic figure throughout this film; Jenner does a good job at playing the family protector and shows the stress at having to take on the mantle of this. Woody Harrelson, who played Mr Bruner, is one of the funniest characters of the film; his immediately blunt and rude teacher allowed for a refreshing and unique take on the student/mentor relationship. Hayden Szeto, who played Erwin, is a very awkward and goofy character with a really charming nature about him; I liked how careful Szeto was at creating a relationship with Steinfeld that felt natural and enjoyable to watch. Eric Keenleyside, who played Tom, was a great fathe figure to start this film off with; he was naturally very funny and loving in his performance which made it all the harder when his inevitable death scene came around. Lina Renna and Ava Grace Cooper, who played Little Nadine and Young Krista respectively, had some immediate chemistry that set up the friendship between these characters very well for the rest of the film; Renna in particular did some great work in showing Nadine's immediate social awkwardness and outsider status. Meredith Monroe, who played Greer, isn't in this film long but brings the film down to earth for a nice beat; in her small exchange she reminds Steinfeld's character that we all go through rough patches but that it gets better and I found that to be one of the strongest messages in the film.

However the best performance came from Hailee Steinfeld, who played Nadine.Steinfeld makes for the perfect protagonist for this film; bringing out Nadine's abrasive and socially awkward nature really well. I enjoyed seeing her role talk on and on, without realising the impact she was having on others; Steinfeld deals out some great wit and sarcastic humour. It's good to see the internal conflict going on with Nadine acted out so brilliantly, Steinfeld really makes her implode as the narrative moves along. Overall this is one of the most honest and open performances you'll see in a film and it's well worth watching for Steinfeld alone.

The narrative had a tendency to drop focus on certain characters which made their subplots seem poorly structured at times; the film lost focus on Darian, Krista, Erwin and Mona throughout and only really brought them back in when it best suited Nadine's character. The editing in the film also felt a bit jarring, cuts came at very sudden and awkward intervals that meant the film didn't always flow well visually.

Kyra Sedgwick, who played Mona, didn't really feel like a motherly character in how she played her relationship with Steinfeld and Jenner; it felt as if Sedgwick was coming on to the role too strongly and she never really developed her character enough by the end of the film. Alexander Calvert, who played Nick Mossman, didn't really have the screen presence to make a mark on this film; despite being a stereotypical creep we never really get much detail to who Nick is as a character.