Miss Stevens

A decent movie that was easy to watch! Acting was over the top with Timothee Chalamet, who reminds me of a young Ezra Miller, who can flat out act even with a mediocre script such as this one! Chalamet hits it out of the ballpark on a nasty curve ball. The script felt like it had a strong base, but missed out on a lot of opportunities in areas it could have explored. All along it felt as though it was barely touching on some of the content such as Chalamet's character Billy who is off his depression drugs, the teacher played by Lily Rabe who had deep under lying problems and it just skirts along that edge, and even Anthony Quintal who plays Sam a student who is gay- who meets another gay student at the drama contest they and comes to Miss Stevens hotel room and has been rejected. Again lots and lots of huge missed opportunities!! I knows you can only fits so much into a movie, but still there was a lot left untouched and not explored. Simply put the excellent acting carries what was given to them, still this movie could have easily been much more than it was!!

I caught this charming little indie on Netflix before I heard of Timothee Chalamet or had seen Call Me By Your Name. The plot revolves around a well meaning although slightly sad and lonely teacher, played by an excellent Lily Rabe, who takes three of her students to an out of town drama competition. One student, Billy (Timothee Chalamet), she is warned has emotional and behavioral issues.

From the drive to the festival to the rehearsals and social events leading up to the competition, the film is filled with both funny and poignant moments. Billy develops a crush on Miss Stevens and his charm and youthful energy draw her to him as well, something that both comforts and scares her..

What I loved about Timothee Chalamet's performance was that he was always in character, always reacting in ways that subtly show he has feelings for his teacher. He is a depressed kid with possible ADHD, but he feels deeply and the longing he has for his teacher is moving and palpable. When he performs his monologue from Death of A Salesman, it's clear he's channeled those repressed feelings into his performance. It also may be the best I've ever heard that monologue done. At that moment, a star was born both in the film and in real life.

After watching Chalamet's impressive work in Call Me By Your Name, I watched Julia Hart's Miss Stevens and I got to say; I was not disappointed.

Chalamet once again shows range that of an actor beyond his years. His portrayal of a teenager with mental illness is perfect, with just enough maturity and youthful energy to the role. Timothée Chalamet understands what it means to be an actor, he slips away into the character of Billy, making Timothée's performance memorable.

Now, I watched Miss Stevens knowing nothing about Lily Rabe. I discovered her skill as an actress is perhaps just as excellent as Natalie Portman's or Amy Adams. She taps into this very realistic depiction of a young teacher that she depicts with such subtlety; she can break your heart, rebuild it and do it all over again. I frankly find it hard to believe Rabe isn't up with the great actresses of today!

Overall, Miss Stevens is not a masterpiece, but it's performances make it sure seem like it. This is the kind of movie you can watch and always be surprised. I can't wait to see more of Chalamet and Rabe.

A quality movie, nice to watch and easy to like. An amazing story about love, life and commitment.

Julia Hart, who wrote (together with Jordan Horowitz, her husband) and directed it, created a deeper and more convincing female character (Miss Stevens) than any male Author could ever do. And the talented Lily Rabe played it with infinite art.

Such craftsmanship couldn't go unnoticed. And it hasn't: Lily Rabe already won South by Southwest Special Jury Recognition for Best Actress. And Julia Hart got a nomination for Grand Jury Award - Narrative Feature, at the same conference.

A mention to 'America' (the Band): the movie would not have been the same without their 'Sister Golden Hair, 1975'

This movie touched me the way not many movies have in a very long time. This movie is simple yet so deeply thoughtful and beautifully portrayed. I think I am gonna remember the movie and performances for long and long.