Although The Edge of Seventeen does a great job at depicting this bleak outlook through Nadine’s eyes, Kelly Fremon Craig decided to ultimately provide teens with a hopeful resolution to Nadine’s story. What might seem like the smallest issues to others can be very large problems in their eyes, and they often struggle to see a way beyond them. One of the biggest things that impacted me while watching The Edge of Seventeen is that same sense of empathy for teens and the difficulties they face. She speaks about how she loved talking with those teenagers, which was very evident through her writing and directing. In a recent interview, Kelly Fremon Craig spoke about how a large part of her preparation for writing The Edge of Seventeen involved interviewing teenagers and hanging out with them in their high schools to make sure that she had an accurate understanding of the types of issues teens are currently facing. Its unashamedly honest approach brings to the forefront issues like depression, self-esteem, and sex without sugar coating any of it.
#THE EDGE OF SEVENTEEN MOVIESHARE MOVIE#
The Edge of Seventeen is the best teen movie I’ve seen in quite a while. At one point in the film she bursts out very dramatically how she is the adult in her household, only to realize that despite what she tries to project, she actually needs more help keeping her life together than her children do. The Edge of Seventeen draws attention to this most readily through the character of Nadine’s mother. These are important traits in the life of any teen, but if we’re being honest with ourselves, they are also equally important throughout the rest of our lives. Writer and first-time director Kelly Fremon Craig keeps returning to themes of confidence and self-esteem throughout her film.
Scenarios like this evoked classic John Hughes high school films like Sixteen Candles in a way that feels very appropriate in The Edge of Seventeen’s modern setting. The main character Nadine is a lonely outcast who finds herself torn between her feelings for the unattainable hot guy in school and the nerdy, awkward guy-friend who likes her so much he can barely speak around her (Hayden Szeto had me laughing out loud more than once). There’s the inseparable best friend who stuck with you through thick and thin, the cool older sibling who’s also kind of a jerk, the quirky parents trying to hold everything together, and the distant yet wise teacher (portrayed brilliantly by Woody Harrelson – easily my favorite character of the whole film). These characters are initially quite stereotypical - it is, after all, a high school film. The Edge of Seventeen gradually peels back the layers of its characters to reveal that they are substantially different than they first appear. Throughout The Edge of Seventeen we watch her slowly re-examine that perception and turn it on its head. What if I told you there were only two kinds of people in the world: those who naturally radiate confidence and excel at life, and those who hope all of those people die in a big explosion? This unique observation is what Hailee Steinfeld’s teen character Nadine says she discovered way back in second grade.
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