Being 17 is full of anguish and drama and so is "Edge of Seventeen," a movie with a smart script from first-time director Kelly Fremon Craig and a powerful performance by Hailee Seinfeld. The course of the movie follows Nadine (Hailee Seinfeld) during her junior year as she learns that the most important thing is not popularity, getting good grades or losing her virginity, but being comfortable in her own skin. Nadine, an outsider all of her life, is cursed with having a popular older brother, who is a top athlete and loved by everyone. Nadine and Darian (Blake Jenner) have a fractious relationship that isn't helped by their mother's obvious preference for her son. Nadine has found solace in the friendship of Krista (Haley Lu Richardson), the sister she never had. But when Krista starts dating Darian, Nadine's world comes apart.
Nadine often comes across as petty and self-absorbed (like most 17 year olds), but she's also sympathetic. And with typical teenage drama, she tells her teacher, Mr, Bruner (Woody Harrelson) that she's going to kill herself. He doesn't believe her and neither do we although she may think she's semi-serious. Nonetheless, we get most of the humorous dialogue when Nadine is talking with Mr. Bruner. And as Nadine grows and changes, she begins to see things more clearly: betrayals that aren't really betrayals, perfect lives that aren't quite so perfect and people hurt by her actions who don't deserve the pain. It's a strong script that can make the characters and circumstances seem real. "The Edge of Seventeen" is certainly worth seeing.
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