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The Edge of Seventeen Movie Review

The Edge of Seventeen is a 2016 teen dramedy directed by Kelly Fremon Craig and starring Hailee Steinfeld and Woody Harrelson. It is one of the year’s better films.

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“I am an old soul.

I like old music and old movies and even old people.

Bottom line is that I have nothing in common with the people

out there and they have nothing in common with me”.

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I really liked this movie despite its obvious shortcomings in terms of storytelling. The script is actually very well written, but some parts of it were too typical and obvious such as everything surrounding the protagonist’s brother for instance. But I liked that it was mostly sophisticated with many great scenes of which the highlights were the calmer scenes with the protagonist as well as the happy ending which is just beautiful in its subtle approach and execution.

The character development is surprisingly great. I loved Mr. Bruner, but I would have liked to have seen more scenes from him. Darian is not my favorite and the mother was also clichéd, but Krista is fine and of course Erwin Kim is such an interesting, different boyfriend than usual. I loved that he was Korean and that his profession is animation.

But naturally the highlight is Nadine who is the main and most fascinating character of the bunch. Now, teenage angst is a familiar subject matter by now. But what differentiates her from the others is her more reserved nature. And watching her have trouble connecting with other people and especially in huge parties made me connect with her as she is so similar to the teenage version of myself. That is why the movie was relatable and all the more powerful to me.

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The acting is top-notch. All of the actors and actresses did a really good job, but Woody Harrelson is as likable as ever and he gave one of the year’s better supporting performances. Hailee Steinfeld is so good! It was so great watching her six years after ‘True Grit’ and realizing that she is still great and even better than before which is a rarity for child actors. Her performance here is so great and believable that it is one of the year’s best female performances for sure. So underrated.

I would have gone with less of that typical friend dating a brother thing, but all of the other subplots worked great with the highlight being the exploration of her character and her problems. The way she overcame them was emotionally rewarding to follow and that is why the ending is moving. The script is deft here and the direction is surprisingly strong for a newcomer.

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The editing is also terrific as it is such a well paced and always very involving flick. The Edge of Seventeen also features excellent dialogue with some of the lines being clever and some being immensely relatable. Some of the things she said seemed to come right out of my mouth when I was that age. I also really liked its humor which was surprisingly pretty dark and edgy for a teen movie. And of course the movie is very emotional at times, but never overly sentimental which I hugely appreciated. Yes, it could have been more original in some spots, but it is so well made and so relatable and dramatic that it is one of the better teen films that I’ve seen, from any age. It is also one of the best that 2016 had to offer as a whole.

The Edge of Seventeen could have been more original in some plot points which felt obvious, but other than that, this film is one of the better teen flicks that I’ve seen. The dialogue is strong, the acting is terrific with Hailee Steinfeld being so great and the ending is wonderfully subtle and emotionally rewarding. The character development is fantastic and the main character was so well realized and some of the things she said were very similar to what I would have said at that age. That is why the film was relatable and all the more powerful to me personally.

My Rating – 4.5

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