One thing I think I always love in movies is when live action animation is used. No, Monroe is but a catalyst and while she does become wiser because of him, it is not all based on her interactions with him but her own individual journey. Minnie isn’t take in by fascination and full on lost and obsessed with Monroe, and then strangely becomes older and wiser due to surviving his nonsense. To piggyback on that last comment, another reason I loved this film was because it wasn’t like most coming of age movies in which the lead is chewed up and spat out by the person who accelerated their development. Making it seem that she never really lost who she was in the pursuit of understanding, and getting to experience, sex. Then, as she goes through things with Monroe, and other people, she continues to draw in order to express herself. She wants to be an artist so she draws, heads to the comic store and upon learning about an inspiration woman who draws in a way she identifies with, she communicates with her. Then keeping such an idea even after someone sort of validates your outer perceived attractiveness.Ī big theme this year has been how representation matters, and I quite like that Minnie was the type of girl who may have been awkward but grew to learn to like her body, not need a man’s, or women’s, validation on it, and that she is one of the few in coming of age stories that we see pursue her dream. Though there are some things I can’t relate to, since I wasn’t a teenaged girl, I do like the idea of a coming of age film actually addressing body issues, and the idea that someone can feel not attractive. Making the fact her relationship is with someone like Monroe saddening. Which I think is a big deal for, unless my memory is off, often times there is a sole focus on virginity and not necessarily intimacy, being playful with your lover, and just hanging out. For as much as Minnie damn near craved sex with Monroe, at the same time you can tell that she also wanted to truly get to know him from the littlest things like his favorite color to him talking about his parents. Though it is very weird to say, perhaps the best thing about this film is that as much as it presented the concept of virginity as a big deal, at heart it was really about being desired, wanted, and having a full-fledged relationship. Thus giving Minnie a crash course on love, lust, sexual liberation, and being confident even when, perhaps, the world doesn’t really give you much reason to. However, then the mind of a predator rolls in, and so we witness a 15-year-old with a 35-year-old man, repeatedly. Someone who is perhaps more attentive than her mom, play fights with her and is certainly around far more than her biological dad, but then they go drinking together, she bites on his hand while they play fight, sucks on his finger, and then it seems he might just realize things have gone too far. It starts off friendly, though, Monroe is just a playful would-be stepdad. Like many teenagers who don’t look like the stars who they see in movies or on TV, Minnie (Bel Powley) wonders if something is perhaps wrong with her? Is she ugly, are her breast too small, is she fat? A lot of thoughts run through her brain and with only her mother’s boyfriend Monroe (Alexander Skarsgard) showing her any sort of affection, things get a bit weird. But something is different about The Diary of a Teenage Girl. Once again, a coming of age deals with one losing their virginity and, as with most coming of age films featuring girls, a man much older than the girl is the one ushering her into womanhood.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |