'Edge of Seventeen' Movie Review

Hello, fellow moviegoers!
   Edge of Seventeen is written and directed by Kelly Fremon Craig, and it stars Hailee Steinfeld, Woody Harrelson, and Blake Jenner. It tells the story of Nadine, a seventeen-year-old girl who doesn’t have many friends and generally dislikes everything. Just as it seems everything couldn't get worse, her best friend starts dating her brother. This film is a coming-of-age film for modern audiences, but is it actually any good?

   This streak of excellent movies Hollywood seems to be on just keeps going. The Edge of Seventeen is a truly brilliant look at life through the view of a modern 17-year-old. Speaking as a teenager, I thought that the environment and portrayal of the characters in this film were incredibly realistic. All of the characters in this film are the kind that you know someone similar to. The Edge of Seventeen is a film that near perfectly captures what it’s like to be a teenager in today’s world.
    A few years ago my friends and I had a conversation. In this conversation, we came to the realization that if there was to be a realistic film about High School and teenagers made, most teenagers wouldn’t be able to see it because it would have to be rated R. This film is that conversation incarnate. It portrays teenagers in an incredibly realistic, uncensored way. The characters in this film are genuine teenagers, not their PG-13 counterparts.
    This film has a fantastic blend of humor and drama that reflects the way our world actually is. This is shown well through Woody Harrelson’s character. He plays a teacher that Nadine often goes to in order to vent about all of her problems. He’s not the usual kind of teacher, though. He’s blatantly honest with her about everything, even though it could (and does) hurt her feelings. At one point he straight up tells her “It sounds like people just don’t like you.” Harrelson’s character is one of the best parts of the film, and his performance backs it up.
    There are a lot of messages in this film that are really important to learn, especially for teens. One such lesson is that life doesn’t always go the way you want it to. In fact, it usually doesn’t, and there’s not a lot you can do about it. Sure, that can make you feel kind of hopeless, but only if you let it. Furthermore, this film shows that people aren’t always who you think they are or who you want them to be. People are just people, and you can't change them. One of my favorite lines from this film says something along the lines of “On bad days, I remind myself that everyone is just as miserable as me, they’re just better at hiding it.”
    The Edge of Seventeen is one of my favorite films of the year so far. Sure, that might be because I’m the perfect age to connect to it, but as a whole, I think this is just an excellent film. The performances throughout it are fantastic, it features incredibly realistic dialogue and characters, and it has enough humor to keep the film light-hearted. This is one of the best modern coming-of-age films that I’ve seen. I would definitely recommend it to people who are in their teenage years to maybe about their late twenties.
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9/10

   So what did you think of The Edge of Seventeen? Where would you rank it amongst other coming-of-age films? Let me know by commenting on this post! Also, if you enjoyed this review, share it on Facebook and Twitter! It really helps! Don’t forget, I post every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, so check back then for more movie reviews and miscellaneous movie thoughts!
 
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