Junior

Julia Ducournau's "Junior" is an attention-grabbing allegory for transitioning out of the ugly-duckling phase of puberty, with an uncommon approach and more texture than the average short film. Garance Marillier's performance was very good, far beyond what I expected from a debut of someone that age. The rest of the cast was credible, as well.

A heavier or darker presentation of this story would have required a feature film, to deal with real-world implications and clarify a couple of events. I might have preferred a slightly extended ending. But for a light-hearted allegory, perfect closure isn't required, so this film works well.

Marillier and Ducournau's collaboration five years later in Raw (Grave) shows exactly the level of performances that Junior hints is to come, with tremendous growth in the skills of both actress and director.

"Junior" is well worth watching... and fun!