MOVIE REVIEW (THE EDGE of Seventeen)

Kristine Rhea D.
De Los Santos – SH 205

PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT
The Edge of Seventeen
Cast: Hailee Steinfeld as Nadine Byrd

Haley Lu Richardson as Krista
Blake Jenner as Darian Byrd
Kyra Sedgwick as Mona Byrd
Woody Harrelson as Mr. Bruner
Hayden Szeto as Erwin Kim
Alexander Calvert as Nick Mossman
Director: Kelly Fremon Craig
Review:
With its combination of biting satire and bittersweet heart, 'The Edge of Seventeen' is an
excellent successor to Hughes' legacy. Writer/director Kelly Fremon Craig touches several of the
associated notes and anxiety-filled moments that are trademarks of the adolescent with her
feature filmmaking debut. The dreamed genre: the narcissistic sensation that everything
happening in our life is essential. The awkwardness of trying to forge an identity inside the high-
stakes pressure cooker of high school is super-important to life.
"The Edge of Seventeen" is a pleasure, with at its core Hailee Steinfeld acting as the
radiant star. As a whip-smart and socially moronic girl named Nadine, Steinfeld further reveals
her versatility. The odd and slightly better-adjusted Krista has been her only friend since
childhood (Haley Lu Richardson). The kid who cannot do wrong is her older brother, Darian. Her
widow mother, Mona, who works hard, a single mom who supports the family. The cute, smart
Erwin (Hayden Szeto), the slightly nerdy yet profoundly decent classmate who harbors a not-so-
secret crush on her, is her other unlikely ally.
For Nadine, every day is miserable; it has to be when hormones and immaturity do not
encourage you to enjoy being the smartest person in the world, as you might imagine. In her
history teacher, Mr. Bruner (a beautifully understated Woody Harrelson), she finds a worthy
sparring partner for her lacerating wit, who dishes it out as well as he takes it and appears
undaunted by her insubordination. On the contrary, he seems to enjoy their little lunchtime
spats. The snappy rapport between Nadine and Mr. Bruner makes these scenes some of the
film's best.
The entire world of Nadine, fragile as it was already, falls when, after a long night of
drinking, her best friend hooks up with her brother and then begins to date him seriously. She
agrees to go along with it at first, joining Darian and Krista at the sort of raging party that only
happens in teen movies. Losing a trustworthy relationship in the grand scheme of things is a
crushing blow, but it is typically not the end of the world. However, it can sound like that if you
are an unpopular teenager and the interloper is a sibling.
The fact that Nadine is so impressive is that she is not always lovely. She can laugh at
herself for her frequent follies, but misanthropy is her default mode, and she does not suffer
from fools. She can be mean and impulsive, and the victim of her undoing is often the victim.
This intriguing jumble of contradictions makes Steinfeld feel real and alive.
The movie begins with a cliffhanger using a looping structure. Nadine stated her
intention to kill herself to her long-suffering teacher (Woody Harrelson, a deliciously deadpan
foil to the pinballing stream of consciousness of Steinfeld. Then it rewinds to reveal the
circumstances of Nadine's desperation: an unpopular loner with a brother's all-star sports hero
(Blake Jenner), having one friend: Krista (Haley Lu Richardson). It is the end of the world for
Nadine when her brother starts dating Krista.
Almost anyone can make a teen movie. Unfortunately, most people produce variations
on the same slang-slinging, a color-popping visual accompaniment to a Spotify playlist. To look
beyond the teenager as a highly marketable brand and convincingly tap into the mess of
insecurities, contradictions, and swirling, unfocused surges of anger is depressingly rare for a
director. A movie that manages to do all this and still be disarmingly funny is even more
unusual. That is why this remarkable debut feature is such a refreshing addition to the genre.

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Kristine Rhea D.

De Los Santos – SH 205

The Edge of Seventeen

Cast: Hailee Steinfeld as Nadine Byrd

Director: Kelly Fremon Craig

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