Teen Spirit
Directed by: Max Minghella
Written by: Max Minghella
Starring: Elle Fanning, Agnieszka Grochowska, Zlatko Buric, Rebecca Hall, Archie Madekwe, Ruairi O'Connor
Drama/Music - 92 min Reviewed by Charlie Juhl on 17 Apr 2019
Written by: Max Minghella
Starring: Elle Fanning, Agnieszka Grochowska, Zlatko Buric, Rebecca Hall, Archie Madekwe, Ruairi O'Connor
Drama/Music - 92 min Reviewed by Charlie Juhl on 17 Apr 2019
It’s not writer/director Max Minghella’s fault, but Teen Spirit is going to have you thinking of all the other improbable rise to fame stories via music; most obviously, Flashdance. Wisely adding “What a Feeling” to the soundtrack to show us he’s in on the joke too, I could not stop returning to the the others who have already travelled this road. Sarah Jessica Parker did it in Girls Just Wanna Have Fun, the first half of Vox Lux did it before the ingénue morphed into Natalie Portman, and even the Netflix film, Dumplin’, did a version of it a few months ago answering the question what happens when the overweight girl tries out for the teen beauty pageant. This time, the question is what happens with the daughter of a Polish immigrant toiling away on a failing farm in nowhere Isle of Wight tries out for an American Idol-type reality show.
Violet Valenski (Elle Fanning, Live by Night) is 17 and already marches through life with a particular stoic reluctance. She milks the goat before school, waitresses after school, sneaks in a quick karaoke song every now and again at a near vacant hole in the wall, rinse, repeat. Mom (Agnieszka Grochowska, In Darkness) appears in the funk of a long-term depression because her husband left them high and dry years back and shows no sign of encouraging Violet to break out of their rut. She even chastises Violet for the karaoke; better to sing for Jesus in the local church choir than for a bunch of drunks. Violet acts out her frustrations thrashing around to No Doubt’s “Just a Girl” in her bedroom.
Violet Valenski (Elle Fanning, Live by Night) is 17 and already marches through life with a particular stoic reluctance. She milks the goat before school, waitresses after school, sneaks in a quick karaoke song every now and again at a near vacant hole in the wall, rinse, repeat. Mom (Agnieszka Grochowska, In Darkness) appears in the funk of a long-term depression because her husband left them high and dry years back and shows no sign of encouraging Violet to break out of their rut. She even chastises Violet for the karaoke; better to sing for Jesus in the local church choir than for a bunch of drunks. Violet acts out her frustrations thrashing around to No Doubt’s “Just a Girl” in her bedroom.
Trying out for the reality show Teen Spirit on the sly, Violet advances through rounds until a parent is required to show up. Not ready to come clean to mom, she enlists the aide of Vlad (Zlatko Buric), an alcoholic ex-opera singer who lives in his van. Vlad proves he knows what he’s talking about as he helps Violet learn the art and science of breathing and the two develop a hesitant relationship based on their love for music. Vlad is also interested in a big slice of any future earnings as her manager. Off to London, and experiencing the big, bad world for the first time, Violet is a surprise finalist - but will she stay true to herself?
Teen Spirit feels beholden to the paint by numbers obviousness of the situation. Of course the girl from the farm is going to get a taste for glamour and forget where she comes from and lash out during her first night club experience. That stoic reluctance morphs into expectation for the silver platter as loyalties to those who helped get her this far are tested. What saves the film from after school special territory are Fanning’s impressive, raw performance as shot by Director of photography Autumn Durald-Arkapaw. Fanning performs all the singling live which earns her extra courage kudos, but I cannot decipher the authenticity of her Isle of Wight accent tinged with Polish; sounded a bit American to this untrained receptor.
Ah, but the cinematography. It’s not as avant-garde as another film featuring Fanning as a rural girl experiencing the big city, The Neon Demon, but it is lush - especially when Violet is on stage. The musical scenes are shot with intense cinematic overtones and even music video techniques, which makes sense, Durald-Arkapaw has shot videos for both Janelle Monáe and Solange Knowles among others. Neon lights flash and strobe, hence the allusions to The Neon Demon, but the original songs pull their fair share of the weight with compositions written by Carly Rae Jepsen and Jack Antonoff.
First time director Minghella, son of the late director Anthony Minghella, is certainly a fan of pop music, specifically synth pop, and effectively spices up the pacing and punch through the soundtrack. A Grimes song carries us through a montage opening before the more original songs take over. Even though his script struggles underneath the all too familiar story arc, Teen Spirit comes across as an earnest passion project. Not only did he write and direct it, Minghella produced and edited it as well. Teen Spirit has rattled his brain for awhile and this actor turned director shows he has the chops to play at the next level. So does Elle Fanning. Violet is not her most cutting edge or intriguing character, but Elle can sing.
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