Review: The Edge of Seventeen

The Edge of Seventeen is a coming of age flick, and one of those films we just love to love, unashamedly. It is a film about the misfits… it champions the wonderful weirdos, the awkward kids, the outsiders, and it makes us want to be one of them. Just like The Perks of Being a Wallflower, this film manages to take you right back to high school, no matter how long it has been, and all the unbelievable awkwardness that comes with that. Despite it all though, The Edge of Seventeen manages to make you actually miss it.

Nadine is a high-school girl doing her best to just survive as a teenage girl in the modern world, which requires juggling all sorts of problems and relationships. Constantly overshadowed by her perfect older brother, Nadine is busy trying to capture the attention of the cute boy who doesn’t seem to know she exists, and deal with her mum’s emotional vulnerability since the passing of her father in recent years, amongst other things. Things take a turn for the worst when Nadine’s only real friend, Krista, hooks ups with her big brother – a development that leads to all-consuming hatred for both parties. Feeling more alone and depressed than ever, a glimmer of hope appears in the form of a new friendship with a sweet classmate, Erwin, whose awkwardness is so great it somehow manages to outweigh that of Nadine. Hilarity ensures in every encounter between the two.

Hailee Steinfeld turns in an excellent performance and earns herself a top spot in the world of teen screen queens with her all-too-relatable portrayal of Nadine, moments of which induce truly side-splitting laughter. Steinfeld nails the unique blend of humiliation, awkwardness, stubbornness and self-entitled arrogance so familiar to any of us who have ever been a teenager. I think anyone – regardless of age and gender – would be hard-pressed not to find at least a handful of moments in this film in which they don’t see themselves reflected; this is how well it captures the universal face palm that is teenage life.

With the help of some excellent supporting performances from Woody Harrelson, Kyra Sedgwick, and many more, The Edge of Seventeen will make you laugh, it will make you cringe, and it will make you remember moments, encounters, and friendships you haven’t thought about for years.

Hilarious and touching in equal measure, The Edge of Seventeen is a thoroughly fantastic film, well worth the watch!

In UK Cinemas November 30.