Jane

JANE was a real surprise, very well written, acted and directed. Loved all of the twists and turns, so you never really knew what was coming. Madeleine Petsch was extraordinary in her role, as was the director, Sabrina Jaglom, to make sure the movie moved along at just exactly the right pace. An interesting tale of how social media is infiltrated in high schoolers to the point of taking over their lives. Relevant and at the same time, the reality of what is going on in our society is sobering. This is so much better than most of what I am seeing these days, and really connects what high schoolers are going through to succeed to matter what and no matter what they have to do to get there. How can students these days just learn and succeed. If you aren't at the top of your game with social media, there is no hope. Go see this gem.

Surprised by this flick and deserves more reviews. The movie deals with a lot daily issues (being bullied, drugs, mental health) that many people have experienced and pulls it off very well in short run time. Yes it's about high school girls but that only serves as the backdrop and feels like a mature film with clever story telling. The story feels believable and so does the cast, nothing ever feels out place or stupid moments that don't make sense or that you would question.

Doesn't over extended its welcome either the film is pretty short and gets to the point..No unnecessary filler and does a job with the main characters. Engaging throughout with some great twists and never predictable.

I really do wish more people would watch this and not skip it based off its low rating.

An interesting take on a classical ghost story about a girl who is haunted by visions of her dead friend. The story and the plot are quite intriguing, as it combines horror-like scenes with the ghost of Jane (a girl who commited suicide) and themes of ambition and determination, but also anxiety and sorrow personified in the character of Olivia. Yet the script could have been written a bit more complexly, because in some moments the dialogues feel too simple and unoriginal. But overall it was gripping and the ending is actually quite schocking. Also this film could appeal to teenage audience, for it takes place at a high school, all of the main characters are teenagers + the main character of Olivia is played by Madelaine Petsch, who is well known from the TV series Riverdale.

... because -- and this is the point of JANE -- the rest of the world is not. Creator Sabrina Jaglom has done a very professional job of demonstrating how stress flows top-down in our culture. Thirty years ago it was normal and acceptable in our society for these sorts of problems to be felt only by middle-aged male executives (Michael Douglas, FALLING DOWN 1993). Today it is normal and acceptable for these same stresses to impact a teenager in an elite girl's school simply looking for the textbook-perfect career path. In many ways Jaglom's film is the anti-Netflix, never afraid to go farther and further than the populist pap from that brand-name streaming leader. It is significant that the film itself is named after a character who is already dead (suicide) just as the story starts, a trope popular with the FILM NOIRS from the 1940's, but not used much today. Reinforced by a very strong performance from Madelaine Petsch, JANE checks all the boxes -- fascinating, attention-grabbing, and disturbing as hell. ((Designated "IMDb Top Reviewer." Please check out my list "167+ Nearly-Perfect Movies (with the occasional Anime or TV miniseries) you can/should see again and again (1932 to the present))

Is it a a cruel intention sort of thing? A revenge story? A ghost story? Some sort of possession or mental illness? Or even a modern Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde interpretation? I have seriously no idea.

Yes there are components which are very important to be adressed in our current society, in the way we act and interact with each other: topics such as PTSD, suicide, bullying, cyber mobbing etc. However the movie does not deliver a coherent picture, nor does it manage to create tension or to come up with a plausible solution. Unless, of course, u would rate the proclaimed self-set goal of the hero/anti hero as an appropriate solution.