Movies about a girl's blossoming into womanhood are nothing new, especially at the Sundance Film Festival where coming-of-age movies are common. But few tackle the subject with the fearlessness of Marielle Heller's The Diary of a Teenage Girl, which takes some very tough, very disturbing issues in a very mature way. While Kristen Wiig and Alexander Skarsgard are the big stars, the breakout star is Bel Powley, playing a young girl with body issues who begins a sexual affair with her mother's boyfriend. Here's the official synopsis:
Like most teenage girls, Minnie Goetze (Bel Powley) is longing for love, acceptance and a sense of purpose in the world. Minnie begins a complex love affair with her mother's (Kristen Wiig) boyfriend, "the handsomest man in the world," Monroe Rutherford (Alexander Skarsgård). What follows is a sharp, funny and provocative account of one girl's sexual and artistic awakening, without judgment.
Similar in a way to American Splendor, the story is spruced up with brief animated sequences that bring to life Minnie's romanticized mindset, and are a big reason why the film won Sundance's Special Jury Prize for Cinematography. Also starring Margarita Levieva and Christopher Meloni, The Diary of a Teenage Girl opens August 7th, and you can check out my review here.
