Review of The Diary of a Teenage Girl (2015) by Smijatov — 30 Jan 2016

An excellent woman-centric film, which is quite a breath of fresh air in the male dominated field, especially when it comes to "coming of (sexual) age" films. It is a strange concoction, yet a very effective one. Marielle Heller, the first-time director, does an excellent job with intermixing beautiful cartoon artwork which enriches the film quite well. While sometimes the artwork does not quite transcend itself to give the film deeper meaning (e.g. 2010's "Rabbit Hole"), this is a rather successful merger of art and film.

In terms of production, the film is very good. Excellent editing and cinematography are aided by well thought out production design and excellent costumes. The lenses used give that "70s hue" that compliments the overall storyline and makes the film somewhat more believable.

The plot is quite engaging itself, if for no other reason but for it's female focus. We are used to those awful slapstick men-centric comedies with their fart jokes. This, in comparison, looks like a mature take on a mature topic - sexual development and growing up of a teenage girl. Surely, the actions of Minnie (excellently portrayed by Bel Powley) seem often reprehensible and irrational, but they are also part of what makes the film credible. Teenagers are weird. They have weird logic (or none, at times). They think about sex. They think about sex A LOT. And sometimes, like in Minnie's case, they are not afraid to explore it.

Powley is extremely convincing in an array of situations in the film and, as one character in the film points out - those eyes! She manages to get through that teenage innocence and vulnerability, but also the strength of her wannabe-Lolita independent woman that she wants to be. And that's part of the genius of the script too: why settle for either one when you can be both?

From the rest of the cast, Alexander Skarsgard has the most screen time and he is actually quite good in the role of the enamoured boyfriend of Minnie's mother. The mother, played by Kristen Wiig, seems like the weakest link in the chain. While Wiig does decently, the mother's character seems to be the weakest in terms of being a full person. We see drinking problems and drug abuse, we see the inability to deal with emotions, as we see the need for (male) attention. But that all seems rather limited, especially within the context of a film that has developed its heroine so well, as well as the troubled male focus of her attention.

Without giving away too much - I'd highly recommend this film to anyone, especially teenagers. It makes thinking about sex seem normal and acceptable, which is important. It is sad that that's an important thing we need to remind ourselves of in 2016, but beggars cannot be choosers.