The Diary of a Teenage Girl

An honest, unfiltered & nonjudgmental coming of age drama about a young woman's sexual endeavours, The Diary of a Teenage Girl is a nicely crafted, sensibly narrated & wonderfully performed cinema that's highly bohemian in nature, emanates a psychedelic vibe from start to finish & is further uplifted by its well-put together cast.

Based on the graphic novel of the same name, the story of The Diary of a Teenager is set in San Francisco during the 1970s and concerns Minnie, a 15-year old aspiring cartoonist who in the wake of her sexuality begins a relationship with her mother's boyfriend. However, her longing for love & acceptance soon sets her on a path to much bolder adventures.

Written & directed by Marielle Heller in what is her filmmaking debut, The Diary of a Teenage Girl is oddly stylish, surreal & provocative in depicting the sexual & artistic awakening of its protagonist and captures the highs & lows of adolescent life with utmost sincerity. Heller's direction is as good as her screenplay, and it's refreshing to see the story being told from a girl's perspective.

Production design team does a good job in replicating the 1970s setting, Cinematography makes splendid use of its camera & bright colour tones to further enhance its images, and Editing is finely carried out while the music fits its scene. Coming to the performances, Bel Powley delivers a terrific performance and is brilliantly supported by Alexander Skarsgård, Kristen Wiig & others.

On an overall scale, The Diary of a Teenage Girl is a bold example of its genre that attempts to capture the turmoil of teenage years without sugarcoating any of it, is capable of leaving a few viewers squirming on their seats with its explicit nature, and thanks to its playful tone & sensible handling of its characters, is a welcome entry in the coming-of-age filmmaking landscape. Definitely worth a shot.

In many ways a period piece, this indie film captures a very special time period in San Francisco, a time when counterculture flourished and withered, people experimented and abused all kinds of substances, and teen artist Minnie experiences a lot of firsts, in the eternal search for acceptance, love, and a sense of purpose.

In spite of a brave, earnest, and raw performance by a deliberately exposed Bel Powley, very believable as a teenager in the aforementioned period, and of a subtle, nuanced and understatedly magnetic one by the great Alexander Skarsgård, this movie falls short because its characters are sadly just a bit too immature, selfish, and unlikable.

While that sounds very much like the typical description of the stereotypical youth, it remains nonetheless a major fault in the script how unsympathetic Minnie is throughout, with no real point of self-reflection or regrets over some of her actions, refusing to deal with the consequences of even her more heinous ones.

Surrounded by egotistical, likewise emotionally stunted, at times manipulative adults, it may be no wonder that the main character is unable to learn or grow much, but the level of navel-gazing is still a bit too grating, with the protagonist of this clearly autobiographical story experiencing life events without any sort of moral compass whatsoever.

The film drags towards the end, perhaps because of the fragmented, increasingly hazy way the story is told as the movie progresses, but also because by then we care very little about the fate of the different characters. Though this intimate film does hit some high notes in terms of mood, acting, and cinematography, the end result is unsatisfying.

(+) The reconstruction of 70's San Francisco is very well done. Some of the scenes really hit the point. Mood and color palette also well done.

(-) Unsympathetic characters, starting with the amoral, self- centered protagonist, doom the movie.

"The Diary of a Teenage Girl" is one film that's not worried about showing it's point even though it's supported by some artistic animation it proves that one young lady is serious about finding herself thru sexual discovery learning that life is about love and lust before you discover your true self. Set in mid 1970's San Francisco Bel Powley is Minnie a young teenage girl who starts an affair with her Mom Charlotte's(Kristen Wiig) boyfriend Monroe(Alexander Skarsgard). And the passion and intimate feel is hot and feel good as many scenes are provocative and blunt showing plenty of skin and breast of young Minnie. As this young lady is in a crazy home life world as mom Charlotte is a fired alcoholic lady who snorts drugs with Monroe on the west coast and California party scene. Thru it all this young lady Minnie learns about people, life and love yet most important she comes to peace thru herself with love and inspiration for art and people. Overall good film of fun, discovery and finding about one's self with a happy feel in the end.

Being a grumpy old guy, I'm not at all the target audience for this film, so please bear that in mind when I tell you that I found this a fairly tedious coming-of-age movie. I admired aspects of it - in particular the performances of Bel Powley and Alexander Skarsgård - but I wasn't able to maintain my interest in the story.

The biggest obstacle was, I think, that Minnie, the eponymous teenage girl, was not the only adolescent around. All the adults in her life were at various stages of arrested development. This is possibly the point both of the movie and of the novel it is based on: how can a child grow up when all her role-models are children themselves? It's an interesting question, but when transmitted as drama the audience finds itself stuck in high school for the duration.

"I had sex today. Holy sh--!" Minnie (Bel Powley)

If you have a daughter around 15, may I suggest you see The Prophet, a wispy cartoon about a philosopher and his devoted town, because Diary of a Teen Age Girl will set you off balance for days. Oh, although it has cartoons, they include flaccid and erect penises. Still in all, it can be an amusing insight into a teen's secret life, and by extension, all teens'.

Minnie, a San-Francisco teen having an affair with her mom's (Kristen Wiig) vacuous35-year old lover, Monroe (Alexander Skarsgard), is sexually alert and ready. Although her affair causes her some trauma as she faces the emotional consequences, she is less affected by the other casual liaisons of all kinds in her relentless search to emulate the adults in her life but only to find the search as hollow as she sees it in them.

Her idol is cartoonist Aline Kominsky, whose work is similar to Minnie's. The insertion of graphic, amusing cartoons helps relieve the depressing descent of Minnie into rampant sex with diminishing returns. As a true coming-of-age film, Diary of a teen age Girl is more about the girl morphing into a woman (she has the body but not the sensibility) through some dark but sometimes humorous encounters.

As a father of five daughters, I shuddered at some of the all-to-real encounters, but, hey, the film is about the '70's in San Francisco when anything goes. If you strip away the liberal life style, the issues for a teen remain universal: How much can you rely on your parents for guidance? Do adults exploit children? Is same sex sex a kick? Do drugs help? Another question might be asked: Why does Monroe not go to jail for statuary rape? Answer: This film is a fantasy of a teen's first sex, and the rude outside world need not apply to be a part. It's all a cartoon dream and humorous if you take it the right way.