/edge of Seventeen

“Edge of Seventeen” stars Hailee Steinfeld, Blake Jenner, Haley Lu Richardson, Kyra Sedgwick and Woody Harrelson in this coming of age film about a teenage girl and the problems she and so many of her generation face in being accepted and in coping with the reality of social competition. The film was written and directed by Kelly Fremon Craig and represents her first directorial endeavor. I might also mention that one of the producers of the film, Julie Ansell, is the daughter of one of our readers,  Although Ms. Steinfeld’s performance, as with the other actors, is genuine and quite skilled, the film itself is more like a television movie than a full length theatrical motion picture, certainly as to the depth of the writing and the production values it seeks to achieve. Nevertheless, the film is an honest portrayal of one girl’s obstacles and how she tries to cope with them and for that reason, together with fine performances by the cast, I give the film 3 stars.