The Edge of Seventeen (2016)

High-school life gets even more unbearable for Nadine when her best friend, Krista, starts dating her older brother.

Director:

Kelly Fremon Craig

Writer:

Kelly Fremon Craig

Stars:

Hailee Steinfeld, Haley Lu Richardson, Blake Jenner

Nominated for 1 Golden Globe. Another 8 wins & 27 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Hailee Steinfeld	...	Nadine
Haley Lu Richardson	...	Krista
Blake Jenner	...	Darian
Kyra Sedgwick	...	Mona
Woody Harrelson	...	Mr. Bruner
Hayden Szeto	...	Erwin
Alexander Calvert	...	Nick Mossman
Eric Keenleyside	...	Tom
Nesta Cooper	...	Shannon
Daniel Bacon	...	M.C.
Lina Renna	...	Young Nadine
Ava Grace Cooper	...	Young Krista
Christian Michael Cooper	...	Young Darian
Jena Skodje	...	Little Mean Girl Leader
Josh Simpson	...	Teammate

Storyline

Everyone knows that growing up is hard, and life is no easier for high school junior Nadine (Hailee Steinfeld), who is already at peak awkwardness when her all-star older brother Darian (Blake Jenner) starts dating her best friend Krista (Haley Lu Richardson). All at once, Nadine feels more alone than ever, until the unexpected friendship of a thoughtful boy (Hayden Szeto) gives her a glimmer of hope that things just might not be so terrible after all.

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Plot Keywords:

adolescence | coming of age film | scantily clad female | panties | white panties | 

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Taglines:

You're only young once... is it over yet?

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for sexual content, language and some drinking - all involving teens

Did You Know?

Trivia

The original script, titled "Besties", centered more on the comedic aspect, and Nadine's friendship with Krista, rather than the friendship being one of the aspects affecting her life. That script did not have Mr. Bruner (Nadine's teacher). Nadine's full name was Nadine Hamidi Yousefa Rostami, her mom's boyfriend was envisioned differently (with dialogue), there wasn't even a mention of her father's death, Nick was Hot Soccer Dan and had around two lines of dialogue, Erwin was a flutist instead of an aspiring filmmaker, and it had a prom sequence at the end.

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Goofs

When Krista and Darian were cleaning up the kitchen, the bin changed places multiple times.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Nadine: Look I don't wanna take up a ton of your time, but I'm gonna kill myself. I just thought someone should know. I don't really know how this works. I'm probably gonna jump off an overpass in front of a semi, so... Or U-Haul, maybe, just not a bus. I'm not gonna be a dick and make people watch, but it has to be big; it's gotta be so big that it just...
[snaps her fingers]
Nadine: Done; kills me. Lights out. 'Cause if it just maims me, and I'm like...
[imitates differently abled person]
Nadine: Well then ...
[...]

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Connections

Features Futurama (1999)

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Soundtracks

Circus Theme 2
Written by Craig Austin
Performed by Craig Austin
Courtesy of Sound Ideas

User Reviews

Fresh, Endearing, and Funny

I can't say that I expected to see this movie opening weekend, or at all for that matter. But I'm glad I did. The Edge of Seventeen is an awkwardly charming coming of age tale that flirts in the same vein as some classic John Hughes 80's flicks.

I think all of us have been keeping an eye on Hailee Steinfeld since True Grit in 2010. When you can steal scenery from the likes of Jeff Bridges, Matt Damon, and Josh Brolin, you know you have someone special. The Edge of Seventeen is an entirely different genre and obstacle for Steinfeld, however. I almost think that the coming-of- age-teenage-angst-comedy-drama's are the most difficult films to reach a broad audience, perhaps even more so than westerns. I usually need something to hook me before I spend money on one of these, and that came by way of Woody Harrelson.

Harrelson play's Steinfeld's teacher and common companion at lunch when there's no one else to sit with. The brilliant thing about this relationship is that its neither too dramatic nor too goofy, the writers find a nice balance between gut busting laughs on Harrelson's end to a nice dramatic payoff in the latter half. For all the clichés that this film inevitably has, this relationship was something very refreshing and served as the highlights for most of the film.

Nadine (Steinfeld) has several issues with her mother, brother, and best friend to figure out throughout the course of the film. But it was pleasing to see that the writers didn't choose to make any one character in the right or wrong. I constantly felt like I was playing out both sides in my head as to who I believe had the right to be mad at the other or vice versa. Being in a family of 7, I can definitely relate to some of the family obstacles Nadine goes through, and it wasn't Hollywoodized just for the sake of pushing the plot forward. There's unfortunately quite a few clichéd tropes that this film ends up taking you toward, but it felt more natural than most of these types of films. This could be attributed to the welcomed R rating the film received.

It isn't for everyone, and I wouldn't even consider myself the target audience. But it speaks to larger personal and family issues than the trailer sets up. It's also one of the best Woody Harrelson performances I've seen recently, even if he is probably as reserved as he's ever been.

+Steinfeld carries this film

+With the help of the hilarious Harrelson

+Writing

-Inevitably some clichés and predictable plot points

8.0/10

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook Official Site

Country:

USA China

Language:

English

Release Date:

18 November 2016 (USA)

Also Known As:

Besties

Filming Locations:

Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

Box Office

Budget:

$9,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$4,754,215, 20 November 2016

Gross USA:

$14,431,633

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$19,370,020

Company Credits

Production Co:

Gracie Films, Huayi Brothers Media, Robert Simonds Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

104 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Surround 7.1

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1