The Diary of a Teenage Girl-2015

Director Marielle Heller

Starring Bel Powley

Scott’s Review #614

Reviewed February 2, 2017

Grade: A-

I wasn’t sure what to expect from the Independent Spirit Award-winning film, Diary of a Teenage Girl (2015).

I expected a light-hearted, well-written coming-of-age story, but the film is much darker than I thought, and that is a plus.

The film is edgy.

The central characters have so much depth, and newcomer Bel Powley delivers an incredibly complex performance in the title role.

Stars Kristen Wiig and Alexander Skarsgard also give tremendous performances.

The film is based on Phoebe Gloeckner’s graphic novel The Diary of a Teenage Girl: An Account in Words and Pictures.

Set in 1976 in San Francisco, a time filled with hippies, drugs, music, and life, fifteen-year-old Minnie, an aspiring comic book writer, is as insecure as any typical fifteen-year-old is.

With wide eyes and stringy hair, she is cute but rather quirky-looking, not the prettiest girl in her class, and records her deepest thoughts into a cassette recorder.

Minnie is intelligent and worldly, accepting of alternative lifestyles and drugs. She is wise well beyond her years.

Minnie’s mother, Charlotte (Wiig), lives a bohemian lifestyle, constantly partying and losing jobs, and is divorced from Minnie’s and sister Gretel’s affluent, but mostly absent father, Pascal (Christopher Meloni).

The girls call him “Pascal” instead of “Dad,” which he hates. Determined to lose her virginity, Minnie is man crazy and develops a sweet relationship with her mother’s boyfriend, Monroe (Skarsgard).

Things begin slowly but develop into a full-blown sexual relationship.

A controversial part of the story is that Monroe is thirty-five years old, and Minnie is only fifteen. Both Monroe and Minnie have their feelings challenged by the circumstances, and Minnie’s emotions spiral out of control.

The subject matter of The Diary of a Teenage Girl will undoubtedly be off-putting for many folks, as the actions are technically statutory rape.

The film never goes in that direction.

Rather, director Marielle Heller crafts a tender story of young love, and when there is too much drama, comic relief is added.

Monroe is never the aggressor, and Minnie is. She is a young girl who knows what she wants.

Since the director is female, there is no hint of Minnie being taken advantage of or regretting her affair- the film is not about this.

Rather, it is about a young girl with blooming sexuality and emotions finding herself in the world. I admire this left-of-center approach immensely.

Other aspects of the film may be too much for some. Minnie and her best friend pretend to be prostitutes and orally service two young men in the men’s room on a lark.

Later, Charlotte uses filthy language to describe Monroe’s and Minnie’s relationship.

The film isn’t safe, but it’s daring and honest. I admire its courage.

Enough cannot be said for the three principal actors in Diary of a Teenage Girl. Bel Powley is a find!

Nominated for an Independent Spirit Award, this amazing young actress should have been recognized by the Academy Awards, but she no doubt has many years and films ahead of her.

She is a “regular girl” type and reminds me of actress Lena Dunham in her looks and her rich delivery.

Kristen Wiig is fantastic and is evolving into a great dramatic actress. As Charlotte, Wiig is wonderfully insecure and an offbeat mother.

She doesn’t discipline; instead, she befriends her daughters, showering them with hugs and kisses and giving the character vulnerable neediness.

Wiig, dynamite in the comedy/drama The Skeleton Twins (2014), has embraced small but important indie films, and kudos to her for this.

Lastly, Skarsgard, mainly known as HBO’s villainous Eric on True Blood, is as inspiring as Monroe.

Providing his character with sympathy and humanity (tough when having an affair with a teenage girl who also happens to be your girlfriend’s daughter), Skarsgard evokes so much emotion in the role that you almost root for Monroe and Minnie before remembering that she is too emotionally fragile.

Skarsgard is brilliant in Monroe’s breakdown scene. I hope audiences see him in more of these complex roles, as he is far more than a hunky actor.

Diary of a Teenage Girl (2015) intersperses graphic-novel and animated elements into the story told from Minnie’s perspective, and the character narrates parts of the film.

This authentic story is not only for teenagers but for smart thinkers and anyone who has ever been overwhelmed by the emotions of love.

Independent Spirit Award Nominations: 1 win-Best Female Lead-Bel Powley, Best First Screenplay, Best First Feature (won)