Boldly unconventional and refreshingly honest, Diary of a Teenage Girl is a frank coming-of-age story that addresses its themes -- and its protagonist -- without judgment. Read critic reviews
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Movie Info
In 1970s San Francisco, a precocious 15-year-old (Bel Powley) embarks on an enthusiastic sexual odyssey, beginning with her mother's current lover (Alexander Skarsgård).
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Rating: R (Strong Sexual Content|Dialogue|All Involving Teens|Language|Drinking|Drug Use|Graphic Nudity)
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Genre: Drama
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Original Language: English
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Director: Marielle Heller
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Producer: Anne Carey, Bert Hamelinck, Madeline Samit, Miranda Bailey
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Writer: Marielle Heller
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Release Date (Theaters): limited
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Release Date (Streaming):
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Box Office (Gross USA): $1.5M
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Runtime:
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Distributor: Sony Pictures Classics
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Production Co: Archer Gray
Cast & Crew
News & Interviews for The Diary of a Teenage Girl
Critic Reviews for The Diary of a Teenage Girl
Audience Reviews for The Diary of a Teenage Girl
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Bold, direct and taking its teenage protagonist seriously through good and decisions, this is a refreshingly different take on a coming of age story. The acting is top notch, especially Powley creates a very unique character: Prudes will have a hard time with every second scene here, but everyone with a wild teenage hood or an open mind will certainly appreciate such an unusual look at what growing up looks like.
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Familiar coming of age story with more cringeable moments than the usual and a few wtf's. I liked the art parts and though some of it was slightly disturbing, it was well done.
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It's San Francisco in the 1970's, and a single mom's bohemian lifestyle leads to one of her boyfriend's having a sexual relationship with her teenage daughter, who opens the film proudly proclaiming "I had sex today ... Holy shit." Despite the statutory rape, drug use, and free use of profanity which may put some people off, this coming-of-age movie is empowering, with several positive messages - embrace your creativity, maintain your self-worth, remember that enjoying sex as a woman doesn't make you a slut, experimentation is ok and you can run away from bad situations, and through it all, you don't need someone else to love you, but you have to love yourself. The animation that is woven into the movie is beautiful, such as when the girl is on an LSD drip and imagines herself to have wings and to be hovering above the room. Her diary is also sometimes quite poetic, for example, "It would've been better to have slept and dreamed than to watch the night pass and the slow moon sink." Bel Powley turns in a great performance, beautifully balancing the girl and emerging woman within, expressing herself with her eyes, and delivering truth in a wide range of emotional moments, some of which are fairly new ground for mainstream cinema. There is quite a bit of nudity, which can be uncomfortable as the character is 15 years old (though Powley herself was 23), but it doesn't at all feel like exploitation in director Marielle Heller's hands, and seeing a body type that is different from the prescribed Hollywood and fashion-industry definition of 'beauty' is refreshing - for Powley truly is beautiful. Alexander Skarsgård, who fans of 'True Blood' will recognize, is suitably "confused", conflicted, childish, manipulative, and licentious all at once, and his nuanced performance was very important to making the movie successful. Kristen Wiig is solid as the mom who dispenses inappropriate advice, and who's partying ways don't exactly serve as a great role model. I like how the girl explores her sexuality as a boy might ("Do other people think about fucking as much as I do?"), and doesn't end up pregnant or crushed, even though the object of her affections for much of the movie is 20 years older, which, while cringe-inducing, feels brutally honest. And, in the end, despite how the adults in her life have let her down, and despite all of the difficulties in growing up, we know that she's not only going to be all right, but that she's going to fly.
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Based off the novel of the same name, written by Phoebe Gloeckner, "The Diary of a Teenage Girl" is a very offbeat indie film about an 18-year-old girl who loses her virginity to her mother's new boyfriend. If that already sounds hard to watch for you, then I can tell you right now, this film is absolutely not for you. There are times where even the biggest of cinema fans may feel slightly awkward while viewing this picture. This film follows Minnie, who is an extreme introvert who will take on any situation as it presents itself. As she has very virginity stripped away, she continues to do so, becoming the school slut and following a path that pretty much very viewer will be against. Having a plot like that is very ballsy, as there is really no levity here. Is this a good film? Yes it is, but I found myself almost disliking it more than actually enjoying what was being presented to me. At a mere 102 minutes, I found myself checking my watch many times, as the film dives too far into sexuality to really grasp what this character is going through. There are many times (although Bel Powley does a great job of portraying her) that Minnie becomes very whiny and annoying. Again, this has nothing to do with the portrayal of the character, but more of the character herself. I found myself disliking every time she was on screen, which is 95% of the film. Due to the fact that this film feels very gross and drab, the simple camerawork and subtle visuals were really what stood out to me. Having her thoughts told through animations around her was very unique and that was easily my favorite part about this film. I understand that many girls have probably gone through a phase like this, and few have probably even gone this far or further, but for this particular character, I did not buy the arc she went through, because it felt incomplete and that she still has a very dark/sexual future ahead of her. With a very abrupt ending that leaves you wishing you had more, even though I did not want to see anymore, "The Diary of a Teenage Girl" is a very uncomfortable film to watch, but a very well-made one. This film may have not been my cup of tea, but I found myself believing the actions of Monroe (Minnie's mothers boyfriend) to be the most realistic, even though he is easily one of the sleaziest characters in the film. Kristen Wiig delivers a surprisingly great performance, but aside from shock value, her character does not do much here. In the end, I found myself admiring this film the entire way through, but it is very uncomfortable to sit through. With interesting visuals, a great cast, and a plot that definitely does what it sets out to do, "The Diary of a Teenage Girl" is solid filmmaking, but nothing more in my opinion.
KJ P Super Reviewer
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