"The Edge of Seventeen" Review

OP-ROB RATING: BUST

           “The Edge of Seventeen” is a coming-of-age dramedy directed by Kelly Fremon Craig starring Hailee Steinfeld as Nadine, a distraught seventeen year-old struggling through adolescence.  Nadine goes to a high school where she has a single friend in Krista (Haley Lu Richardson).  Surprisingly, Krista falls in love with Nadine’s golden boy older brother Darian (Blake Jenner).  Nadine is rendered friendless when she rejects Krista because of this.  Throughout the film, Nadine interacts with a few individuals who truly care for her even though she cannot see it.  One of these people is actually Darian; another is her charming history teacher Mr. Bruner (Woody Harrelson) as well as a nerdy suitor named Erwin (Hayden Szeto).  “The Edge of Seventeen” is about Nadine’s journey out of depression and into appreciation for what she has had all along.

With the exception of a few poignant scenes, “The Edge of Seventeen” is a throwaway movie.  The humor can be seen coming from a mile away, while the dramatic developments fail to break the genre standard.  For example, Mr. Bruner never fails to counter Nadine with a witty comeback.  It is a given.  Like when he responds to Nadine’s proclamation of her intended suicide with a proclamation for his own.  In another sequence Nadine talks with another loner at a house party about the movie “Twins” starring Arnold Schwarzenegger and Danny DeVito.  Inevitably, the loner compares Nadine to the unattractive sibling, further insulting her.  With regard to the storyline, Nadine eventually does find the acceptance that has been there all along in Mr. Bruner and Erwin. 

The biggest issue with the film is the blatant lack of depth in its cast of characters. Kyra Sedgwick portrays Nadine’s self-absorbed mother, Blake Jenner plays a good-guy all-American big brother, and Woody Harrelson turns in a performance as the loveable teacher with all the one-liners. With such a talented lineup, and such little substance, “The Edge of Seventeen” is insulting.  Audiences have seen these stock characters time and time again.  In the burgeoning canon of coming-of-age dramedies it takes more than a clever script and a few shallow characters to break the mold.

Worst of all though is Hailee Steinfeld in the lead role as Nadine.  Steinfeld burst into stardom for her incredible performance as Mattie Ross in the Coen Brothers’ remake of “True Grit” in 2010, garnering an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress.  Since then, Steinfeld has been like Benjamin Button.  But instead of age, it’s acting performances.  All of the poise and promise she displayed in “True Grit” is slowly deteriorating.  The most recent glimpse of the phenomenon is in “The Edge of Seventeen” where she sulks around as a teenage stereotype until she has an attitude change and the world turns into a Nickelodeon show.  But hey, at least her hit song “Love Myself” is pretty good![1]

There is a scene in “The Edge of Seventeen” when Nadine awkwardly stands alone outside of a circle of people at a house party.  Most people have been there.  I have been there.  It sucks.  After standing around briefly, Nadine goes outside the house where she gets the “Twins” joke.  Being an adolescent is a universal experience that is sometimes very hard, which is meaningful and worth exploring.  Yet, “The Edge of Seventeen” skirts the real stuff and opts for a generic story fueled by shallow characters and cheap jokes.

[1] Full disclosure… Hailee Steinfeld is several months younger than me and she already has an Academy Award nomination and a Platinum Single.  I am an average college student with a movie blog almost no one reads.  She is winning big time.

"Moana" Review

OP-ROB RATING: ALL-STAR

             Moana (Auli'i Cravalho) is the daughter of Chief Tui Waialiki (Temuera Morrison) of the Island Motunui.   Like every other citizen on the island, she has a job.  For Moana, this job is to stay on the island and rule the people there.  However, as is evident from the very first scene in Disney’s new animation adventure “Moana”, this girl is destined for the sea.  Set in a mythic Polynesian land, “Moana” is the story of this daring girl.  A succession of introductory scenes and catchy songs set the stage for the film.  In years past, a shape-shifting demigod by the name of Maui (Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson) had the nerve to steal the life-giving heart of the Goddess Te Fiti.  Maui’s rash decision awakened various mystical beasts across the islands and below the sea, not to mention sapping the goddess of her life-giving power and unleashing a destructive force across the entire land.  This destructive force has suddenly reached Moana’s home of Motunui, where they have run out of fish and vegetation has started to crumble.  To save her island Moana is tasked by the Ocean itself to find Maui, and deliver him across the ocean to return the heart of Te Fiti.

My favorite scene in “Moana” is unequivocally her discovery of Maui.  After washing up on a tiny dessert island, Moana is quickly introduced to the loud, egotistical, yet ultimately charming Maui.  He emerges dressed only in a leafy skirt, tattooed from the neck down with a head of hair that would make Troy Polamalu proud.  While Moana tries to explain her quest to the mystical demigod, he ignores her and breaks into song, “Okay, okay. I see what’s happening, yeah. You’re face to face with greatness and it’s strange…  I know it’s a lot, the hair, the bod! When you’re staring at a demigod. What can I say except, you’re welcome!”  Maui goes on and on about how great he is and all of the prizes he won for humanity, like the breeze and coconuts and fire and various other natural phenomena.  As he sings, a “mini-Maui” tattoo dances all around his body, each piece of artwork depicting a great accomplishment.  This scene, among others, is so full of color and energy it’s impossible to turn away.

Aside from the quality music and plot we have come to expect from Disney animation, “Moana” features a powerful female lead voiced by Auli'i Cravalho.  The quest that Moana undertakes is one of great danger, and there are several points where she encounters the kind adversity most animation films would shy away from.  Throughout the film she overcomes obstacles through unconventional intellect, wit, and fearlessness.  As a kid, I had the joy of watching a lot of male heroes like Hogarth in “The Iron Giant” and Buzz and Woody in “Toy Story”, amongst many others.  Not that those films don’t inspire all children, but it is special to have heroes you can relate to on a base level just as a boy or a girl.  Moana joins a growing lineup of dynamic animated female leads that have emerged in theaters over the past few years.

In a not-too-short, not-too-long 107 minutes Moana and Maui are led on a thrilling journey that involves run-ins with monsters, moments of self-doubt, and plenty of music.  The imagery throughout the film is crisp, beautiful, and infused with Polynesian folklore.  By all means, “Moana” is a breezy oceanic voyage that should fill the sails of anyone in need of a lift this winter season. 

"Manchester by the Sea" Review

OP-ROB RATING: LEGEND

          “Manchester by the Sea” is a film directed by Kenneth Lonergan starring Casey Affleck as Lee, a Boston janitor who spends his days serving rude apartment tenants and getting into bar fights.  Lee is suddenly yanked out of his normal life when his brother Joe (Kyle Chandler) dies of heart failure, leaving behind a teenage son named Patrick (Lucas Hedges) and several other assets including a house and a fishing boat.  The subsequent burial, allocation of the will, and funeral require Lee to temporarily relocate an hour away from Boston to Manchester by the Sea, Massachusetts where his brother lived.  Lee himself once lived in Manchester by the Sea, but made a mistake one night that resulted in a horrific personal loss.  Throughout the film, Lee finds himself caught between his responsibility for Patrick and his desire return to his secluded life outside of Boston.

           Most of us know what it feels like to have bad memories connected to a physical location.  Most of us know what it feels like to lose something invaluable in our lives.  Granted, the tragedy that haunts Lee is probably far more dreadful than anyone in the theater can relate to.  But it is his despair that makes the story so compelling.  Because despair is always deeply, impossibly personal.  However, Lonergan manages to build a story that reveals despair with refreshing clarity.  Earlier this year I reviewed a film called “Demolition” that sought to explore this very same human affliction.  While “Demolition” made a grand effort, it ultimately failed because of a muddled plot that overextended itself.  “Manchester by the Sea” avoids this pitfall.  Furthermore, Casey Affleck turns in a fantastic performance that will likely land him an armful of awards this winter.  Few actors have portrayed such an authentically unsettled man.

          In addition to Affleck’s performance the simply told story in “Manchester by the Sea” is refreshingly original.  In many films audiences are presented with a character that has experienced a great tragedy, whether it be Sean Thornton (John Wayne) in “The Quiet Man” or Andy Dufresne (Tim Robbins) in “The Shawshank Redemption”.  These characters almost always find a path out of the darkness that haunts them.  “Manchester By the Sea” presents a similarly challenged main character in Lee, yet his experience with loss proves much different.  At many points during the film Lee is presented with opportunities for redemption, often arriving in the form of typical drama movie tropes.  However, instead of taking the bait, Lee constantly defies the viewer’s expectations.

          Another facet of the film that is worth noting is the beautiful cinematography throughout.  The wide shots of the open Atlantic coupled with the distinctly New England architecture are particularly compelling.  Throughout the film Lonergan manages to keep the viewer in perspective.  The beauty of the film always bolsters the plot and never dominates it.  The brisk shots of the New England winter are nicely paired with the hardy attitude of the blue-collar characters.  “Manchester by the Sea” is very well done yet never condescending in its excellence. 

          Ultimately some viewers might be disappointed with “Manchester by the Sea” because of its rather cold ending.  There is a scene near the end of the film in which Lee tells Patrick, “I can’t beat it”.  While there is something comforting about films that wrap everything up, there is also something unrealistic about them.  In life, some wounds never heal, and “Manchester by the Sea” reflects this reality in beautifully effective fashion.