Written by: Kevin Berge
I'm not saying that acting is getting easier over time, but it feels like each generation of actors is starting younger already great. (Image Courtesy of: thedailybeast.com)
Quick Take: Eighth Grade is Bo Burnham's emotional showcase of social anxiety carried by a dominant performance from Elsie Fisher and screenplay that relies on feeling rather than words often. While the story is a bit thin, its resonance drives the film far beyond any potential plot issues.
***This review will not go into any story spoilers beyond the basic set-up of the story which says almost nothing of the film. Feel free to read ahead regardless of if you have or have not seen Eighth Grade already.***
In some ways, I never really grew out of my childhood social anxiety. I lucked into a few groups of friends over the years because I have often been driven by the fear to connect with others. I'm risk averse, and I learned too often growing up how easy it is to make a mistake in a conversation. Better just to not try.
For that reason, I can feel the weight of Eighth Grade's message, a story about thirteen-year-old Kayla Day (Elsie Fisher) struggling with her own social anxieties and the awkwardness of growing up. It's not new to write a story about how much school sucked growing up, but this take feels fresh because it is a complete venture into Kayla's mindset.
This is not a movie with a complete plot and intense narrative. It is a dialogue-driven film but also has some of its best moments in simple waves of sound. This is a true slice of life dramedy that want to just show what life can be like in the transition between the end of middle school and the beginning of high school.
As high schooler Olivia (Emily Robinson) tells Kayla, "Eighth grade is the worst." This is a time where kids are just trying to figure out themselves out. As a collective, this is a time when students are at their most stupid, gross, and dangerous because it can feel like everyone is labeling everyone else.
Kayla's label is established right away in the film. She's the "most quiet". This comes in spite of Kayla's voice dominating the movie, mainly through YouTube videos she makes that almost no one watches. She tries to speak her mind through the camera because it feels safer than speaking to people face to face.
It probably shouldn't be all that surprising that Bo Burnham's debut film that he both wrote and directed frames its narrative around the medium of YouTube as a comedian who started out as a YouTuber himself. There's a genuine power to just how well Kayla's words in her videos work to frame the narrative.
As a whole, this film is impressively sparse with its writing. It requires the audience to pay attention to not just the words said but their framing. Calling this a comedy would be a stretch, but there is some hilarious use of irony on top of the more dramatic uses.
In some ways, I never really grew out of my childhood social anxiety. I lucked into a few groups of friends over the years because I have often been driven by the fear to connect with others. I'm risk averse, and I learned too often growing up how easy it is to make a mistake in a conversation. Better just to not try.
For that reason, I can feel the weight of Eighth Grade's message, a story about thirteen-year-old Kayla Day (Elsie Fisher) struggling with her own social anxieties and the awkwardness of growing up. It's not new to write a story about how much school sucked growing up, but this take feels fresh because it is a complete venture into Kayla's mindset.
This is not a movie with a complete plot and intense narrative. It is a dialogue-driven film but also has some of its best moments in simple waves of sound. This is a true slice of life dramedy that want to just show what life can be like in the transition between the end of middle school and the beginning of high school.
As high schooler Olivia (Emily Robinson) tells Kayla, "Eighth grade is the worst." This is a time where kids are just trying to figure out themselves out. As a collective, this is a time when students are at their most stupid, gross, and dangerous because it can feel like everyone is labeling everyone else.
Kayla's label is established right away in the film. She's the "most quiet". This comes in spite of Kayla's voice dominating the movie, mainly through YouTube videos she makes that almost no one watches. She tries to speak her mind through the camera because it feels safer than speaking to people face to face.
It probably shouldn't be all that surprising that Bo Burnham's debut film that he both wrote and directed frames its narrative around the medium of YouTube as a comedian who started out as a YouTuber himself. There's a genuine power to just how well Kayla's words in her videos work to frame the narrative.
As a whole, this film is impressively sparse with its writing. It requires the audience to pay attention to not just the words said but their framing. Calling this a comedy would be a stretch, but there is some hilarious use of irony on top of the more dramatic uses.
I hope we all have a father that will enable us to burn away our hopes and dreams. (Image Courtesy of: slate.com)
Elsie Fisher (Despicable Me) is asked to do a lot in this story with the camera often right up in her face. She often carries the film with her emotions. The complexity of moments is driven by her facial expressions. She is fantastic throughout in a role that will likely define her career.
Everything about this movie feels intensely personal. It is clear that Burnham behind the camera has a strong grasp of his ideas to the point that you can feel it throughout the run time. This is a movie that wants you to cringe but not because of its comedy but because you feel invested in the moment.
To be honest, this was hard for me to watch at times. At more than one point in this movie, I didn't even notice my own involuntary reactions to the film. I accidentally stretched my arms up, blocking the view of two people behind me for a moment. I curled up in my seat. I averted my eyes too often.
However, to me, that's a credit to the movie. I was frustrated with how it made me feel, but I appreciate that it made me feel so physically. I honestly am having a tough time thinking of any film that affected me this much because it viscerally hit on a subject that plagues my thoughts and actions.
Most of what drives this is the film's use of musical cues. This isn't a film with a heavy soundtrack, but its repeated themes nail the moods. There's genuine moments of horror brought out by how the music plays over its images, adding a unique frame to a situation that would seem mundane otherwise.
This is not a perfect film. Its story is so heavily slice of life that it lacks cohesive elements, which can especially make the closing stretch of the movie frustrating. This is perhaps needed because it adds more realism to the story, showing that life does not contain many neat cathartic moments but rather smaller half-victories.
I honestly can see this film only rising in esteem for me over time. I hate it because I love it. It is pure emotional anxiety on display in a way that I may not stop thinking about until well after the year is out.
Everything about this movie feels intensely personal. It is clear that Burnham behind the camera has a strong grasp of his ideas to the point that you can feel it throughout the run time. This is a movie that wants you to cringe but not because of its comedy but because you feel invested in the moment.
To be honest, this was hard for me to watch at times. At more than one point in this movie, I didn't even notice my own involuntary reactions to the film. I accidentally stretched my arms up, blocking the view of two people behind me for a moment. I curled up in my seat. I averted my eyes too often.
However, to me, that's a credit to the movie. I was frustrated with how it made me feel, but I appreciate that it made me feel so physically. I honestly am having a tough time thinking of any film that affected me this much because it viscerally hit on a subject that plagues my thoughts and actions.
Most of what drives this is the film's use of musical cues. This isn't a film with a heavy soundtrack, but its repeated themes nail the moods. There's genuine moments of horror brought out by how the music plays over its images, adding a unique frame to a situation that would seem mundane otherwise.
This is not a perfect film. Its story is so heavily slice of life that it lacks cohesive elements, which can especially make the closing stretch of the movie frustrating. This is perhaps needed because it adds more realism to the story, showing that life does not contain many neat cathartic moments but rather smaller half-victories.
I honestly can see this film only rising in esteem for me over time. I hate it because I love it. It is pure emotional anxiety on display in a way that I may not stop thinking about until well after the year is out.
