hopscotchee: hailee steinfeld score: 74.5 rating: R time: 104 minutes
excuse us!!!! did the credits have to come that fast? seriously, we really didn't want this movie to end!! filled to the brim (just like nadine's slurrpie) with witty dialogue, adorable characters, and a purely pumped storyline, the edge of seventeen is full throttle entertainment, leaving you only dissatisfied at the credits because all the fun is sadly over!!
truly, the cherry on top of this spectacular sundae of splendidness was hailee steinfeld!! legit, could you even get enough of her?? front lining this movie as the quirky main character, nadine, she stole the show, embracing her abundantly awkward character type and delivering whip smart dialogue that perfectly fit the overall uptempo mood of the movie to a degree that, even with slightly cheesy or over dramatic lines, she landed them in a way that felt fitting to the role, without taking away the seriousness of nadine's emotions, only amplifying the sensation of them even more. and yes, there are a lot of great actresses and actors out there, but where most singer-to-actors-and-actresses tend to be better at one talent than the other, hailee honestly aces them both, which further made her performance refreshing and absolutely delightful to watch. especially in scenes where (spoiler) nadine was arguing with her brother, darian, brilliantly brought to life by co-star blake jenner, she impressed us with the back and forth banter, that accurately captured that loving annoyance which intimately resonates within brother/sister relationships. her performance, especially with blake, was really genuine and superbly escalated to the touching heart attack you get when (spoiler) nadine hugs darian at the end of the movie after he drove to pick her up from mr. burner's house - which may we say, woody harrelson is literally best. his character was fabulous, and as an actor, he really doesn't hold anything back. bottom line, if it weren't for the actresses and actors furiously flamin' up this firestorm of a movie, the humor and spirit of this film would've panned and significantly diminished the viewer's attachment toward the movie. so good on ya'. all of ya'.
just as lovely, the costumes were top notch!! a tad more on the 'too stylish' side up against the portrayal of your flat-out-basic high school, they set a bright contrast to the characters through a fun load of color and the incorporation of artsy patterns that still blended together a nice mix of normalcy with typical attire like sneakers, slouchy tees, and shorts to create a beautiful pairing. it was clear from the start of this movie that costume designer, carla hetland, was intermediately in touch with each of the individual character's emotions and the film's overall progression, intriguing the audience with the creativity of her clothes, yet, still not taking anything away from the story being told.
however, despite this movie receiving a high score overall from us, it didn't exactly receive a perfect score, so to touch on our biggest and really only complaint, some scenes and storylines escalated a bit, feeling rather abrupt and off course from the film. on recall, a scene in particular was the central 'got caught' scene at the beginning of the movie. (spoiler) given that all of darian and krista's interactions before their hook up included that brief, platonic dialogue between the two of them while cleaning up the living room and some prior knowledge that krista and darian had met before from previous sleepovers and hang outs with nadine, their relationship came a bit out of the blue. yet while serving a very picante plot twist, the error in this was by making nadine the focal storyteller. by having the scene directly cut to her the next morning to find darian and krista in bed together, this didn't allow the writer to set up their chemistry, leaving the relationship feel harshly random and not that serious. to this fault, the story had a disconnect at the end in the scene when (spoiler) nadine came down stairs to see darian and krista in the kitchen, and after a less-cringeful interaction between the two friends, krista and darian looked at each other and said "that was good". like seriously, when did they get all that serious that darian had to take a freakin' knife and cut the cord between their friendship?
but again, even with a couple of jumps in the storyline, we still couldn't bear the credits coming that quickly. leaving the viewer completely content with a positive message that speaks to individuality and self acceptance, the edge of seventeen was just a huggable, good-hearted film brought together with a fabulous amount of flare and fever-pitched fun that most admirably provides a beautiful evolution of seventeen year old nadine.
-- thanks, hailee xo