Daydream Believer

There is a lot to admire in this movie. The story seems very real, the characters aren't monsters or saints and it avoids the dramatic conventions of filmmaking; there is no big dramatic ending and the main character learns about life not through some epiphany but just through the process of making it through. She might not even say she had learned anything at all. At the same time, I didn't find it terribly compelling. It's interesting and there are some good moments, and it has a wonderful sense of realism from the script, direction and acting, but those dramatic conventions can make for a more powerful experience and without them this movie needs to compensate with something more than it gives. I don't regret seeing it but I wouldn't really recommend it to anyone and I wouldn't watch it a second time. So: admirable, intelligent and very true to life, but just a tiny bit boring.