There are no shortage of films telling stories about young teens facing changes in life, especially puberty, and even such movies with a "creature feature" twist number more than a few. Among such company, 'Blue my mind' nonetheless stands as a fair competitor.
Yet the problem is that while the concept is solid, and there are some good ideas in the screenplay, the best word I can think of to describe the execution is "incomplete."
Mia (Luna Wedler) is having difficulty fitting into a new school or getting along with her parents, to the point that she wonders if they're actually related. Things start looking up as she befriends a fellow student, Gianna (Zoe Pastelle Holthuizen), a rather rebellious young woman whose "devil may care" lifestyle draws out behavior in Mia that contrasts with the stricter upbringing and expectations she has known. The bulk of 'Blue my mind' is devoted, narratively, to a "coming of age" exploration of who Mia is, or could be, or might want to be. The story is anchored by fine performances from Wedler and Holthuizen, but even so, the way these scenes play out feels a little forced, and inorganic.
At the same time, Mia begins to experience strange new feelings, and see differences in her body, that portend something more transformative on the way. For about 75 of the film's 97 minutes, those troubling curiosities Mia is experiencing - a bizarre new craving, unseemly marks on her skin, acute changes in her toes - are delivered on-screen very piecemeal, with no notable progression per se. Which would be fine, cinematically, if not for the fact that in the last 20 minutes those slow and minor changes abruptly launch forward into being nearly complete. What were odd symptoms suddenly become a jarring transformation, and there's no real flow in the narrative from A to B.
Yet the film is capped off by a surprisingly strong ending. The full realization of Mia's transformation, physically and emotionally, results in some heartfelt moments before the tale comes to a rewarding close.
The great flaw here, though, is that the entire rest of the movie - an uneven coming-of-age story followed by abrupt body horror - does not convincingly flow into the ending. As a result, pleasing as the final scene is in and of itself, we're left feeling a little less than satisfied overall.
I don't dislike 'Blue my mind.' The primary young actors are good, there are good ideas, and I enjoy the ending. It's just not entirely successful in telling the story that it wants to.
Worth watching, I think. Just keep your expectations in check.
