The Diary Of A Teenage Girl is a film written and directed by a woman, based on a novel by a woman and feels like no less would have been acceptable in this politically correct times. This is strange because the film is most reminiscent of James Toback and Todd Solondz (especially When Will I Be Loved, with its heavy sexual themes and Welcome To The Dollhouse, with its theme of a young woman coming into her own.) Just like films by these two directors, writer-director Marielle Heller's film (based on a novel by Phoebe Gloeckner) is uncomfortably close to home in the ways it explores the idea of human interaction and the temptation to push that interaction over the edge. However, it's also an enthralling, inventive and somewhat quirky drama held together by the lead performance of Bel Powley.
The film follows Minnie (Powley,) a socially awkward, neurotic teenage girl living in 1970s San Francisco who is tired of being looked at as a kid. One day, she makes a proposal to her mother (Kristen Wiig)'s sleazy kind of boyfriend Monroe (Alexander Skarsgard) to engage in sexual relations privately. Immediately, Monroe seizes the opportunity but Minnie soon finds out that it's not all about the carnal nature of a relationship.
Powley is excellent here, showing a tortured soul who just wants to feel grown up. Every little look she gives, movement she makes, ETC, totally informs Minnie. Her performance completely reminded me of Heather Matarazzo's brilliant work in Solondz's Welcome To The Dollhouse. This is as fully realized a film character as I have seen. Skarsgard also does a really good job, showing once again that no one plays a creepy weirdo quite like him. Wiig provides solid supporting work as the completely oblivious mother.
As adapted by Heller, the screenplay is dynamite. The way the interactions always seem to be teetering on the creepy is so flawlessly done it often made me very uncomfortable to listen to the characters talk. Even a conversation between Minnie and Monroe about food is so wickedly evil in its own little way that the viewer can't help but be engaged, no matter how much they are cringing. Minnie's whole way of speaking totally informs who she is viewed as VS. who she actually wants to be. There is obvious hesitant in her to sleep with Monroe from the get-go but she feels the obligation to. The first bit of dialogue between she and Monroe perfectly shows this strained connection the two have.
The direction is also really good. Heller, along with the set designers, costume designers and other crew members, should be praised for the look of the film. I've always found the 1970s is the toughest decade to pull off in film and they absolutely nail it here. Not only the way the surroundings and clothes look but the way people talk and act totally brings the decade back to life.
The film does drag a bit as it reaches its conclusion and it feels as if there are a couple of moments that feel more shoved in than perhaps they should have been. However, The Diary Of A Teenage Girl is a risky, engaging, altogether successful film that makes me realize just how much I miss the prime years of Toback and Solondz.
(4 out of 5 Stars, The film is rated R for strong sexual content including dialogue, graphic nudity, drug use, language and drinking-all involving teens)
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