The Edge of Seventeen is a coming of age tale from up and coming writer-director, Kelly Fremon Craig. It has become a new modern classic for many young adults across the country. There has been a lack of strong leading female characters in the comedy genre since Means Girls hit the big screen in 2004. A smart film filled with wisdom and prosperity, The Edge of Seventeen gives audiences a sense of nostalgia akin to the John Hughes films of the 1980’s. The dynamics between the characters adds to the drama in the film as friendships are tested, sibling rivalry spikes, and a young romance gets an awkward start.
Betrayal is only one of the feelings protagonist, Nadine (Academy Award nominee Hailee Steinfeld) feels once she discovers her best friend, Krista (Haley Lu Richardson), is sleeping with her brother Darian (Blake Jenner), the popular golden boy. Nadine is completely mortified, but Krista still tries to hold on to their relationship by inviting Nadine to a house party. Unfortunately, this fails when Krista abandons her. Nadine is constantly clashing with her widowed mother, Mona (Kyra Sedgwick), as Mona clearly shows favoritism toward her brother, leaving Nadine with no one to fall back on. Nadine has lost her best friend to her brother, and not willing to make any other friends, she’s left alone. This forces her to rely on her teacher, Mr. Burner (Woody Harrelson), as she goes to him with the epiphany that she is going to kill herself.
Obviously, Nadine’s life has taken a turn for the worst, but things start to get better when she meets an awkward, polite boy, Erwin (Hayden Szeto), that becomes her first friendship other than Krista. Nadine and Erwin’s relationship becomes the key to solving her issues with her brother, mother, and best friend. Craig does a magnificent job with character development as each situation surrounding Nadine helps her to grow and mature at the brink of seventeen.
If you haven’t seen The Edge of Seventeen yet, you definitely need to. It’ll give you #feels.