This exuberant, bold film that audaciously
refuses to apologize for the complexity of
its 15-year-old protagonist may be one of the
most honest and revolutionary depictions of
adolescence ever put on screen. Minnie is a
precocious, vivacious teenager on the cusp of
a sexual awakening. Unfortunately, her bohemian
mother (Kristin Wiig) is too absent to notice,
and frequently leaves her alone with the
ludicrously handsome man she’s dating, Monroe
(Alexander Skaarsgård, “True Blood”).
Minnie and Monroe fall into a precariously
complex affair that director Marielle Heller
handles with unparalleled skill, eschewing
melodrama and victimhood for more complex
questions about love, longing, and agency.
Fearlessly sliding from toughness into
tenderness, and hilarity into heartbreak, this
unerringly wise, achingly true film perfectly
captures the messiness of young adulthood.
