Director/Writer: Céline Sciamma | 4.5/5 Girlhood I admit that I hate the film's title. The English title, at least. The correct French title is Bande de Filles. Know what I do not hate? That would be the actual film. Céline Sciamma’s wondrous, emotional, and sometimes-bleak tale of a girl facing life and coming into her own as a woman is certainly a film to remember as we make our way through 2015. The only resemblance Girlhood has with Richard Linklater’s 2014 cinema masterpiece is its title. Rather than a childhood-spanning time capsule, this film focuses in on a particular point in life. If you look past the abusive, drunk stepdad, Boyhood is a rather positive, encouraging affair. Girlhood, on the contrary, takes a hard look at the way an established system and a bad decision can run right over young women. For those of you who will not watch a subtitled foreign film, this is the part of the review where I advise you to continue reading/watching/staring-mindlessly-at the latest Kardashian vanity project. For the remaining twenty percent of the population, Girlhood follows a timid French girl named Marieme (Karidja Touré) who, after finding out she will not be accepted into high school, joins a gang in an attempt to find purpose and a sense of kinship. She finds such a bond with three likeminded female outcasts led by a tough-girl who goes by Lady (Assa Sylla). |
Don’t mistake this positive sentiment for a sunny movie. For the large part of the second half, a dolled-up Vic, in a final attempt to set herself apart, roams lifelessly through a series of parties dispensing drugs. It’s no wonder that in her off-time, she ends up trying to hide her femininity. By disguising herself in a costume of masculinity, she finds cover from objectification, judgement, and slut-shaming. Or maybe it’s not a costume at all. Sciamma tells and concludes her tale in a fashion that welcomes interpretation and allows the audience - female or male, but more effectively female - to reflect their own experiences off of Vic.
Girlhood would not be the reflective experience it is without a mirror like Touré, a first-time actress. As it turns out, the vast majority of the actresses were recruited straight from the streets, pulled from lives that were probably a lot like Vic’s. This may add to the authenticity of the entire cast, but it especially works for Touré, who nails every twist and turn of her character’s journey. Trailing close behind is Sylla, who’s Lady may be the true beating heart of the film.
For a true representation of what Girlhood is trying to say, look no further than the mesmerizing and startlingly poetic late-night lip-sync of the girls jamming to Rihanna’s “Diamonds.” Honestly, I have never been a fan of the song, but that wound up being irrelevant to the power of the song used as a narrative device for Sciamma. Now, I’m starting to sort of like it. As for Girlhood, now that is something I loved at first sight.
(Available on iTunes)