The Edge of Seventeen (2016 film)

Written and directed by Kelly Fremon Craig, The Edge of Seventeen is the story of a high schooler who confides to one of her teachers about wanting to kill herself as it relates to the complication of her life that includes her older brother dating her best friend. The film follows the life of a young woman dealing with growing pains as well as the many complications relating to loss and the uncertainty of being a teenage girl. Starring Hailee Steinfeld, Haley Lu Richardson, Blake Jenner, Kyra Sedgwick, Hayden Szeto, and Woody Harrelson. The Edge of Seventeen is a riveting and witty film from Kelly Fremon Craig.

The film follows a seventeen-year old high school student whose life has become troubling as she turns to one of her teachers where she has thoughts about killing herself. During this conversation with her teacher, she thinks about the events in her life that has shaped her including her tumultuous relationship with her older brother, the death of her father a few years before, and the fact her brother is now dating her best friend. Kelly Fremon Craig’s screenplay opens with the film’s protagonist Nadine Franklin (Hailee Steinfeld) driving to her school and then walk to the classroom of one of her teachers in Mr. Bruner (Woody Harrelson) as much of the film’s first two acts is about Nadine telling Mr. Bruner what’s been happening with her life. Much of it involves having to be in the shadow of her older brother Darian (Blake Jenner) who often gets his way since they were kids as the only friend she had is Krista (Haley Lu Richardson) who had always been there for Nadine.

During a sleepover one night when Nadine and Darian’s mother Mona (Kyra Sedgwick) is out of town, something happens that changes everything where Krista and Darian become a couple much to Nadine’s disgust. It play into Nadine’s own insecurities as she often feels like her brother always get what he wants and is often considered the favorite since their mother always calls on Darian. Nadine also copes with her own desires as she has a crush on an older classmate in Nick Mossman (Alexander Calvert) but has befriended another classmate in Erwin Kim (Hayden Szeto) who has feelings for her. Still, it raises a lot of confusion for Nadine who is dealing with so much including her relationship with her mother that is reaching its breaking point.

Craig’s direction is quite simple where it doesn’t rely a lot in style in favor of something more straightforward. Shot largely in Anaheim, California as Portland, Oregon with some scenes shot near Vancouver and Surrey, British Columbia in Canada, the film is set in a suburban world where everyone kind of knows each other but it’s a world where Nadine feels like she doesn’t really belong to. Even in moments where Craig would use wide shots to establish her own isolation when she breaks off her friendship with Krista as Craig would also use some medium shots to play into the growing confusion and anguish that Nadine is enduring. There are some close-ups in some scenes such as a moment where Nadine is thirteen dealing with the awkwardness of growing up as she sports a bad haircut. It’s among the few moments in the film where Craig displays some humor while much of the drama is low-key and restrained to play into Nadine’s own growing pains as she tells her story to Mr. Bruner. When the film returns to that opening scene where it would lead to the third act, some revelations occur about not just Nadine but also Mr. Bruner and Darian as the latter copes with being the man of the house. All of which play into Nadine’s search in finding herself as well as deal with the fact that there’s people who do care about her. Overall, Craig creates a compelling and heartfelt film about a seventeen year-old girl dealing with loneliness and herself.

Cinematographer Doug Emmet does excellent work with the film’s cinematography as it is largely straightforward in its autumn setting while using some lighting schemes for some of the scenes at night. Editor Tracey Wadmore-Smith does nice work with the editing as it is also straightforward with some stylish montage cuts to play into Nadine’s own troubles including the film’s opening sequence. Production designer William Arnold, with set decorator Ide Foyle and art director John Alvarez, does fantastic work with the look of Nadine’s home as well as the home she, Darian, and their mother live in as well as the home of Erwin.

Costume designer Carla Hetland does terrific work with the costumes as it is largely casual as well as the usage of color to play into the personality of the characters. Sound designer Kami Asgar and sound editor Erin Oakley do superb work with the sound as it is straightforward including the way things sound at a party or at the school cafeteria. The film’s music by Atli Orvarsson does wonderful work with the music with its mixture of folk and keyboard-based music to play into some of the film’s dramatic moments while music supervisor Jason Markey creates a fun mixture of music ranging from old-school music from Billy Joel, the Alan Parsons Project, Aimee Mann, Pixies, Beck, and Spandau Ballet to current music from Cut Copy, Miles Betterman, Santigold, Craig Austin, Cloves, Miike Snow, Valentino, Birdy, ASAP Ferg, Caribou, Two Door Cinema Club, Anderson Paak with Schoolboy Q, Phantogram, and the 1975.

The casting by Melissa Kostenbauder is marvelous as it feature some notable small roles from Lina Renna as the young Nadine, Ava Grace Cooper as the young Krista, Christian Michael Cooper as the young Darian, Eric Keenleyside as Darian and Nadine’s father Tom in the film’s flashbacks, Alexander Calvert as an older student named Nick that Nadine has a crush on, and Hayden Szeto in a terrific performance as Erwin Kim as a classmate that Nadine befriends as he tries to woo her awkwardly while listening to her problems. Kyra Sedgwick is fantastic as Nadine and Darian’s mother Mona as a woman that is very image-conscious as she is trying to be young and vibrant but copes with Nadine and her issues where she really doesn’t understand her. Blake Jenner is excellent as Darian as Nadine’s older brother who is the epitome of perfection as someone that is just trying to be a good person yet hides his own secret about the way things are going for the family.

Haley Lu Richardson is brilliant as Krista as Nadine’s best friend who finds herself falling for Darian as she finds herself torn in wanting to be there for Nadine but also finding someone in Darian that she likes being with. Woody Harrelson is incredible as Mr. Bruner as a teacher who listens to everything Nadine is going through as he is a man that knows that Nadine is a lot smarter than the students he’s taught while also being a very calm and observant man that knows a lot as well as provide some sensitivity in trying to help this young girl. Finally, there’s Hailee Steinfeld in a remarkable performance as Nadine as this seventeen-year old girl that is dealing with a lot in her life as she tries to cope with her loneliness as well as her own wants and needs where Steinfeld provide that air of energy and angst into the role of a teenager dealing with growing pains and her role in the world.

The Edge of Seventeen is a sensational film from Kelly Fremon Craig that features great performances from Hailee Steinfeld and Woody Harrelson. Along with its supporting cast, fun soundtrack, and an engaging story on growing pains and teenage identity, it’s a film that has elements of realism but enough entertaining moments to create something that audiences can connect with. In the end, The Edge of Seventeen is a phenomenal film from Kelly Fremon Craig.

© thevoid99 2018

Cop Car

Directed by Jon Watts and written by Watts and Christopher Ford, Cop Car is the story of two boys who find an abandoned police car as they take it for a joyride unaware that they’re being pursued by its owner and what is in the car. The film is a look into a simple joy ride that suddenly becomes a cat-and-mouse game between a cop and two mischievous boys. Starring Kevin Bacon, James Freedson-Jackson, Hays Wellford, Camryn Manheim, and Shea Whigham. Cop Car is an offbeat yet gripping film from Jon Watts.

The film is the simple story of two runaways who find an abandoned police car where they take it for a joyride only to later get in trouble with a corrupt sheriff who is trying to find the car and what is in in the trunk. The simplicity of the story as well as the minimalist approach that Jon Watts and Christopher Ford would use to tell the story with their script makes it far more intriguing as it play into the suspense where this sheriff would try and find his car while these two boys are just driving around the town not knowing what they’re doing as they would eventually discover what is in the trunk. There is also a subplot in which a woman would see the two boys as she wondered if what she sees is true as it creates more intrigue. The script also doesn’t feature a lot of dialogue as it maintains that sense of minimalism where it’s more about behavior and strategy as it leads into this chilling climax.

Watts’ direction is quite mesmerizing as it is set in Colorado though it feels like it could be set or shot anywhere in the American West. Watts’ usage of the wide and medium shots play into the locations while using the latter as well as some close-ups for the intimate moments in the film. Especially where the close-ups add to the moments of suspense and some of the drama while Watts would create different versions of how the boys found the car and where was the sheriff when he abandoned it as it is among the fascinating moments in the first act. Watts’ direction also has this great usage of silence in the way the sheriff conducts himself as it is clear that he is quite evil but also unhinged as one of the few people he communicates with is a dispatcher. The scenes involving the boys are more lively for the first half of the film but then becomes serious in the second act as what they would discover in the trunk but also be reached by the sheriff through his radio. Its climax isn’t just chilling but also a moment where this innocent joyride the boys took into this stolen car would take an extremely dark turn. Overall, Watts creates a riveting yet intense film about two boys stealing an abandoned cop car.

Cinematographers Matthew J. Lloyd and Larkin Seiple do excellent work with the film‘s cinematography from the usage of the vast locations and natural lighting for the scenes in the day as well as the more eerie images set in the evening and at night. Editors Megan Brooks and Andrew Hasse do fantastic work with the editing as it is very straightforward yet knows when to cut at the right moment to help play into suspense. Production designer Michael Powsner and art director Nate Oldham do nice work with the look of the sets from the home of the sheriff to some of the small bits of the cop car‘s interiors. Costume designer Ruby Katilius does terrific work with the costumes as it is mostly casual for the characters.

Special effects makeup designer Midian Crosby does brilliant work with the look of a character in the film that seems to have some issues with the sheriff. Visual effects supervisor Aleksandr Djordjevic does wonderful work with the visual effects as it is mostly bits of set-dressing for some of the film‘s climax. Sound editor Paul Hsu does superb work with the sound in the way gunfire sounds as well as some of the sparse moments in the film. The film’s music by Phil Mossman is brilliant for its low-key score with its mixture of somber piano-based music with elements of folk to play into that feel of the American West while music supervisor Mark Wike provides a low-key soundtrack of rock and country music.

The casting by Craig Fincannon and Lisa Mae Fincannon is great as it features a voice cameo from Kyra Sedgwick as the police dispatcher as well as terrific small roles from Camryn Manheim as a woman named Bev who witnesses the boys driving the cop car and Shea Whigham as a beaten-down man who has a grudge towards the sheriff. Kevin Bacon is amazing as Sheriff Kretzer as a corrupt sheriff who accidentally leaves his car as he has something in its trunk where he tries to retrieve while being very slimy in the way he communicates with the boys through the radio. Finally, there’s the duo of James Freedson-Jackson and Hays Wellford in their respective roles as Travis and Harrison as two mischievous boys who like to cause trouble as they steal a car where they just have this sense of energy into their roles that feels real as well as display that sense of fear into the situation they’re in as they are major highlights of the film.

Cop Car is an incredible film from Jon Watts. Featuring a great cast, a simple yet effective premise, and gorgeous images, it is a film that bends genres in some ways but also goes for that less-is-more mentality in telling a story that is just fascinating as well as engrossing. In the end, Cop Car is a phenomenal film from Jon Watts.

Jon Watts Films: (Clown (2014 film)) - (Spider-Man: Homecoming) - (Spider-Man: Far from Home) - Spider-Man: No Way Home

© thevoid99 2016

Personal Velocity: Three Portraits

Originally Written and Posted at Epinions.com on 10/12/04 w/ Additional Edits & Revisions.

Written and directed by Rebecca Miller, that is based on her novel, Personal Velocity: Three Portraits is the story of three different women in three different parts of their lives as they each explore their own idea of womanhood. Narrated by John Ventimiglia, the film explores these three different stories that each follow three different women struggling to find their roles in life. Starring Kyra Sedgwick, Parker Posey, and Fairuza Balk in the three stories along with Ron Liebman, Leo Fitzpatrick, Seth Gilliam, Wallace Shawn, and Patti D'Arbanville. Personal Velocity: Three Portraits is an exhilarating yet mesmerizing film from Rebecca Miller.

Delia (Kyra Sedgwick) is a housewife to her abusive husband Kurt (David Warshofsky) while raising three kids in John (Nick Clubber), May (Nicole Murphy), and Claire (Sarah Morf). Though Delia's life was an extraordinary one as a teenager where she had the reputation of controlling her sexuality while living with her hippie father (Brian Tarantina). All of that changed when she married Kurt as their marriage turned sour as he would start to abuse her. Deciding to leave Kurt and take the children with her, they drive around upstate New York to seek shelter as Delia reconnects with her old friend Fay (Mara Hobel). Despite getting a job as a waitress and gaining the attraction of the cook's son Mylert (Leo Fitzpatrick), Delia still tries to deal with her new role as well as her relationship with Kurt.

Greta (Parker Posey) is a cookbook editor who is asked by her editor (Mr. Gelb) Wallace Shawn) to edit an upcoming novel for acclaimed writer Thavi (Joel de la Fuente) as Greta sees this as a big moment for her to be successful. The new job has Greta hoping to gain the approval of her big-shot attorney father Avram Herskovitz (Ron Liebman) whom she had a testy relationship with. Attending a party with her husband/New York Times editor Lee (Tim Guinee) and their freind Oscar (Josh Phillip Weinstein), Oscar is surprised by her news though Greta becomes confused by this new success. Notably as she has feelings for Thavi, that reminds her about an affair she had with a guy named Max (Ben Shankman), while pondering if she can succeed on her own terms.

Paula (Fairuza Balk) has just witnessed a murder of a Norwegian man she just met as she flees from that and her own tumultuous relationship with Vincent (Seth Gilliam). Driving towards upstate New York, she picks up a young runaway named Kevin (Lou Taylor Pucci) as she stops at the home of her mother Celia (Patti D'Abranville) whom she hadn't seen in years. Still reeling from the way that relationship got fractured, Paula recalls what happened when she ran away from home and later met Vincent as Celia makes an attempt to reconnect. After calling Vincent, Paula feels lost as she also tries to deal with this young runaway she's starting to care for.

While episodic films in recent years haven't been done lately and sometimes, there would be stories that would end up overshadowing one another or everything else in the movie. Miller however, managed to figure out everything since all three stories are different yet are filled with similar themes and character backgrounds while a subplot involving the murder Paula was involved is actually heard in TV or radio in the stories of Delia and Greta. Miller as a writer manages to find a narrative where all three stories can come together without any sense of inconsistency or even in its non-linear approaches to the stories of its protagonists.

The directing style Miller presented isn&'t just fascinating in its digital photography but there would be use of stop-motion camera frame shots, slow, fast-motion styles, and how everything moves with just a small camera. It's a film that has its own style while remaining true to Miller's carefully structured screenplay. Helping Miller with that vision is cinematographer Ellen Kuras who brings a dreamy, video-transfer style in night scenes involving Delia's road trip away from Kurt while presenting different tones for each characters. While Paula's story has a bit of a grainy, dreamy feel, Greta has a more polished yet still digital video style with wonderful camera framework while Delia's story is set in a more monochrome like style. The credit really goes to Miller and Kuras for presenting a movie that has a distinctive visual look.

With additional credit going to production designer Judy Becker for the film's look of Upstate New York and NYC and editor Sabine Hoffman for giving each story a 25-30 minute time frame. The film also has a wonderful, melancholy film score from Michael Rohatyn for giving the movie an electronic, sparkling synthesizer track that shows the women moving in their in own worlds while there's different types of music in the background including a country song that accompanies Delia's rural background.

The film's supporting cast is very spot-on with Seth Gilliam, David Warshofsky, and Tim Guinee in the respective roles of the men the women are with where Gilliam plays the frustrated boyfriend, Warshofsky as the abusive husband, and Guinee as the aloof one. Even the role of parents from Brian Tarantina, Ron Liebman, and Patti D'Arbanville are well written in the small time they're given with each, a different subtext to their performances in their failures to communicate with their children. While the film's supporting cast is small, there are some great performances from Mara Hobel, Leo Fitzpatrick, Wallace Shawn, Joel de la Fuente, Josh Phillip Weinstein, Ben Shankman, and Lou Taylor Pucci all providing strong performances that helps carry the film's story for its protagonist.

There is really no clear winner for who handled the best performance since Kyra Sedgwick, Parker Posey, and Fairuza Balk all bring in great, complex performances to their respective roles. Balk, who often had played more of the bad girl roles, gives her best performance to date as the clueless, generous runaway Paula with her motherly approach in her scenes with Pucci. Balk also showed a desperate dramatic range in her phone call scene with Gilliam while we see the depths of troubles and her desperation to be loved in a defiant, sympathetic performance. Sedgwick is amazing in the role of Delia as the abused housewife who has enough yet at the same time, it seems like she wants more since she's in love with her husband still. Sedgwick had the more difficult role since her character started off with a sense of power until she got married and as her story develops, we see her regaining some strength yet the physical and mental abuse from her husband is still in tact. This is truly Sedgwick's most powerful performance to date.

Parker Posey gives another great performance in the role of Greta, who is a woman desperate for acceptance from the world yet she's the one character that the most unlikable because of her affairs and desperation to be successful yet there's a sympathy for her because she's trying to win her father's acceptance. Posey had the most accessible role but she made sure it's one women could relate to while we also see a sense of self-loathing right at the end of her story. Truly, this is more of a film of how women are defining themselves in a climate where there are moments of feminism yet there's also sadness behind them. It's really a character-driven story that shows women in different climates trying to ponder their own futures with its three main actress giving spot-on performances.

Personal Velocity: Three Portraits is a marvelous yet enchanting film from Rebecca Miller. Featuring outstanding lead performances from Kyra Sedgwick, Parker Posey, and Fairuza Balk, it's a truly hypnotic and entrancing film thanks in part to Ellen Kuras' stylish digital photography. It's also a film that really speaks out for women's struggle to find their place in the world told in three different ideas that each share similar themes of individuality. In the end, Personal Velocity: Three Portraits is an extraordinary film from Rebecca Miller.

Rebecca Miller Films: (Angela) - The Ballad of Jack & Rose - The Private Lives of Pippa Lee - Maggie's Plan - Arthur Miller: Writer

© thevoid99 2012