An excellent indie now getting a nation-wide theatrical release, and it couldn’t have happened to a better underdog-film.
What Works: This is the story of a high school senior (Miles Teller) who is the life of the party, and always in the moment. That’s mostly because he’s always drinking. There are few moments of the day when he’s not sneaking sips from a flask in class or spiking a soda when he’s at work. He suffers a break-up with his longterm girlfriend in the beginning of the film, then begins dating the sweet Amy (Shailene Woodley) when he literally wakes up in her yard. Is she a rebound or someone he’s really falling for or both?
The movie starts sweet and gradually deepens as it keeps going. The scene when Teller finally reconnects with his long-lost father stayed with me for days, but so will the tender scenes of young love. You root for him to wake up and not let this girl go before it’s too late, and I was shocked at how invested I was in the characters. This is an intelligent, heartfelt movie that will sneak up on you if you let its subtle charms work. Teller and Woodley are terrific (both give breakout performances), but so is a supporting cast made-up of Bob Odenkirk, Jennifer Jason Leigh, and Kyle Chandler.
What Doesn’t Work: Sometimes the film is so smart that I wondered if it was being true to how reckless teenagers can really be. These seem to know their emotions and are able to express them, and there’s not a real idiot in the pack. It’s refreshing to see a movie that doesn’t condescend, but I’m also not sure it’s the most authentic portrait of people that are only 18. [Example: There’s a scene where a guy now dating Teller’s ex wants to beat him up but they wind up having a thoughtful conversation filled with mutual understanding.]
What I Would Have Done Differently: Nothing…except maybe buy a second ticket. If the worst you can say about a movie is that it treats its young characters with too much respect and thought, then that’s really not much at all.