Director: Marielle Heller Starring: Bel Powley, Alexander Skarsgård, Kristen Wiig, Christopher Meloni Writer: Marielle Heller | 4/5 The Diary of a Teenage Girl Let us all hope sweet sixteen is kind to Minnie, the artist and burgeoning women that is the subject of first-time director Marielle Heller’s The Diary of a Teenage Girl. Directly in the center of Minnie’s point of view, Diary follows Minnie as she navigates down just about every dark rabbit hole a girl could jump down in 1970’s San Francisco. The anchor of the central plot and the catalyst of Minnie’s awakening is the affair she begins with the boyfriend (Alexander Skarsgård) of her mother (Kristen Wiig). Minnie’s dark and bumpy journey only gets started there, but with every valley comes a tiny victory that makes the whole journey worth while. I must admit that Minnie’s endless string of dead end relationships became monotonous after a while. I found myself caring less and less for the person and Minnie’s relationship with them, as I knew it was only going to end in our heroine getting hurt. Maybe it was numbing, or maybe I was simply dodging the blows being shot at me. If that is the case, it’s only because Bel Powley’s portrayal of Minnie is effervescent and achingly real. Equal measures naive and fearless, Powley gives her character a humanistic authenticity that you probably will not see matched for the remainder of the year. She truly is the breakout star of the film. |
Following in her enormous shadows is a bevy of solid performances from Skarsgård, Wiig, who continues to prove her formidable dramatic chops, and Christopher Meloni. Though they all give sturdy supporting performances, it’s not hard to see why Minnie is such a confused, love-deprived child: every adult that surrounds her is a horrible person. Her dad (Meloni) is self-absorbed and distant. Her mom comes in hammered and high on coke every night, too busy self-stoning her own problems away to see the life changes her daughter is making. And lastly, her mom’s adult boyfriend is, let’s just be real, a pedophile who preys and takes advantage of the innocent curiosities of a young woman.
Much has been said about how Heller portrays no one in a judgmental light. That’s true, for the most part. Skarsgård’s Monroe comes off as just a cool, laid back guy for the majority of the film, but even Heller cannot deny how much of a complete loser he is by movie’s end. Same goes for heroine addict who gives Minnie some same-sex fun. Heller presents her as harmless and romantic at first, but even she cannot keep that facade up for long. The addict, like every other burnout in this movie, is an empty shell of a person who cares little for our main character’s well being.
But that’s the whole point. Diary is the tale of the awakening of Minnie’s self love. How can you really become an adult or be truly loved before you love yourself? That’s the message that the film, and the autobiographical Phoebe Gloeckner book on which it is based, brings to you with wide open, honest arms. Don’t see the film if you are a squeamish about nudity or frank talk of sex. If you can handle some of those things (and Minnie’s awful haircut), you are in for one of the best coming-of-age tales this year.
Much has been said about how Heller portrays no one in a judgmental light. That’s true, for the most part. Skarsgård’s Monroe comes off as just a cool, laid back guy for the majority of the film, but even Heller cannot deny how much of a complete loser he is by movie’s end. Same goes for heroine addict who gives Minnie some same-sex fun. Heller presents her as harmless and romantic at first, but even she cannot keep that facade up for long. The addict, like every other burnout in this movie, is an empty shell of a person who cares little for our main character’s well being.
But that’s the whole point. Diary is the tale of the awakening of Minnie’s self love. How can you really become an adult or be truly loved before you love yourself? That’s the message that the film, and the autobiographical Phoebe Gloeckner book on which it is based, brings to you with wide open, honest arms. Don’t see the film if you are a squeamish about nudity or frank talk of sex. If you can handle some of those things (and Minnie’s awful haircut), you are in for one of the best coming-of-age tales this year.