Sweetheart

Sweetheart (2021) is a movie from the UK that was written and directed by Marley Morrison. It stars Nell Barlow as AJ, a troubled, depressed adolescent. Jo Hartley portrays Tina, her mother. Ella-Rae Smith is Isla, a lifeguard at the caravan beach resort where the family goes for a vacation.

AJ is the protagonist, so we naturally want to see things her way. However, she's hard to like. In movies, as in life, sullen depressed people pull you down, even when you try to lift them up. That's how the movie starts, and the plot continues from there.

This is a pretty good film, especially because the actors are talented professionals. It's definitely not a feel-good movie, although it has its moments. We saw Sweetheart virtually as part of ImageOut, the outstanding Rochester LGBT Film Festival. The movie has an IMDb rating of 6.9. I agreed, and rated it 7.