Page 14
February 13, 2019
A Hunger for More Films Like This
lescence. But I happen to believe is kind, earnest, and relentlessly
that radical honesty is a much-ne- aimed toward good behavior. But
As I mentioned, the film never glected tool with the potential to to her mortification, she is voted
received a U.S. release; though awaken empathy and compassion. “most quiet” in her eighth grade
well-received by Canadian crit- We would do well to remember class and feels acutely her so-
ics, it was described in “Variety”
after its Toronto Film Festival run
as “grandiose” and “overstuffed.”
When I think of the number of
convoluted battle films I have seen
garner accolades, I read these as
signs that we have not learned to
appreciate the quality of storytell-
ing at work in “Hochelaga: Land
of Souls.” We have not learned to
wonder about all the stories lodged
in any particular spot on American
soil. This film, which employed
300 indigenous people to play the
Iroquois and Algonquin characters
and extras, helped me to visualize
and to wonder about the ancestors
all around us. It deserves a much
broader viewing.
“Eighth Grade” (fourth on
my list of the best films of 2018)
photo CreDit : a24 p iCtures
is that exceedingly rare film that Elsie Fisher conveys the anxiety and insecurity of adolescence in
dares to depict adolescence hon- “Eighth Grade.”
estly--unlike the fashionable, air-
brushed depictions we generally that all of us have moments like cial isolation--exacerbated by the
see where kids are portrayed by these in our rear view mirrors if endless hours she spends trolling
and liking other people’s snapchat
art-directed young adults, perpetu- we are brave enough to look.
Burnham, barely out of adoles- posts and consuming enhanced
ating standards of beauty and cool
that no actual adolescent could cence himself, has coaxed very images of celebrities, cartoons,
hope to live up to. Even more re- natural performances out of all the and strangers, whose hashtags
alistic depictions tend to be played adolescents in the film, which in- and emojis and hit totals confirm
for broad laughs rather than for cludes a lot of teenage boys--but the awesomeness of their lives.
real insight--yet here writer-di- he has said that his own struggles Kayla posts her own hashtags and
rector Bo Burnham, assisted by with anxiety led to this film’s fo-
an astoundingly natural lead per- cus on an eighth-grade girl. There
formance from 14-year-old Elsie is something so epic about what
Fisher, manages to walk a line be- happens to girls at this age; it is
tween humor and pathos that feels as though all the weight of impos-
achingly, horribly familiar--and sible expectations of beauty and
almost too painful to bear at times. assured-but-not-too-threatening
This is adolescence as we want to competence crash down on them.
There are patterns to how girls
forget it and mostly do.
Conveying truth at this level deal with the pressure--cutting,
takes commitment, and Burnham eating disorders, mean-girl be-
and his relentlessly real lead ac- haviors--but they share a quality
tress demonstrate a level of com- of intensity that is uniquely the
mitment that may disarm you. province of the adolescent girl.
I can barely stand to look at my For them--I remember It well--the
eighth grade school picture; I stakes feel stratospheric.
As her devoted but (to her) end-
can’t imagine living life in the
same world as a feature-length lessly irritating father can plainly
film depicting me in all the awk- see, Kayla, the girl at the heart of
ward, shame-filled agony of ado- this film, is a wonderful kid. She
C ontinueD from p age 3
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doctored images, and dispenses
affirming advice on her own You-
Tube channel about such topics as
“how to be yourself.” Although
she brightly addresses her audi-
ence as “guys” and encourages
them not to “care what other peo-
ple think about you,” there isn’t
much sign that anyone is listen-
ing--and it is mostly advice she
wishes she knew how to follow.
In the hyper-dramatic world of the
internet, Kayla misses that the dis-
tance between her own reality and
what she posts is likely mirrored
by the posts that she finds so con-
vincing from everyone else.
In contrast to Kayla’s internet
world, Burnham (who himself
attained actual fame via his own
YouTube channel a decade ahead
of Kayla) offers a touchingly re-
alistic picture of Kayla’s actual
world. She is a perfectly lovely
kid, but in that awkward, lurching
way so common to adolescents.
She is never sure what to do with
her changing body, makes tragic
yet hopeful fashion choices, ex-
periments with makeup (via in-
structional videos on YouTube,
naturally) to distract from skin in
the throes of hormonal adjustment.
Much of her exasperation at life
gets leveled at her dad, who does
at good as any parent at balancing
giving her room and attempting
to engage--yet some of the fun-
niest scenes of the film involve
her reacting with irritation to his
simplest attempts to connect. Any
adult who has attempted to parent
or even to befriend an adolescent
will recognize this territory well.
Some of what I appreciated most
about the film also involves what
is hardest to watch--Kayla’s inter-
actions with adolescent boys. She
so clearly feels herself in an infe-
rior position, and offers things she
shouldn’t and doesn’t even want,
taking the cues the culture gives
her--and the boys, too, taking those
cues, move for things they don’t
necessarily want either. Without
naming any of these dynamics,
Burnham demonstrates how the
lies we tell ourselves about love
and sex and what makes a person
desirable lay traps for both boys
and girls. The only comfort here
is that, for all her anxiety and inse-
curity, Kayla has a way of righting
herself, though certainly without
ever fully appreciating the dangers
she has avoided.
The film spends enough time
with Kayla to earn some moments
at the end confirming that she will
be okay. Although her darkest mo-
ments feel like agony to her, we
also know she is going to be okay.
And in a way that may just be
(barely) believable, she does too.
Darleen Ortega is a judge on
the Oregon Court of Appeals and
the first woman of color to serve
in that capacity. Her movie review
column Opinionated Judge ap-
pears regularly in The Portland
Observer. Find her movie blog at
opinionatedjudge.blogspot.com.
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