Review of The Diary of a Teenage Girl (2015) by Anthony I — 09 Jan 2016

The Diary of a Teenage Girl is a Robert Crumb comic come to life. You better believe that I loved this film. 2015 has given us a lot of films to talk about, but this one went completely under the radar, and it shouldn't have. This may be the best film of the year, and by far, one of the most provocative and fearless pieces in more than a year.

It's a coming-of-age story about a 15 year-old girl in the 1970's, dangerously experimenting nymphomania with her mother's 35-year old boyfriend. If that sound's frightening, it should be, but that's the point. If films of the time period like "Harold and Maude", "Taxi Driver" and "Fritz the Cat" come to mind, you're right on the money. The early 70's were a wild, revolutionary time were mainstream movies pushed every social boundary it could. This takes us back to those times. Maybe today, the subject matter isn't quite outrageous, but the nuance and celebration of it's outrageousness is infectious to a fresh, new audience. Bel Powley is a breakout star. She's fantastic, and uncannily plays a teenager, when in fact, she's older than me. The other star is Kristen Wiig, in the best role I've ever seen her in, as the hipster mom. She's really a great dramatic actress. Most comedians these days seem to be. The mixture between live-action and animation was lovely to look at, and a solid touch to what would've been a film just as fantastic without it.

This is one of my favorites, and it's going to haunt me for a while now. I love it when movies do that.