The Diary of a Teenage Girl

Last updated

The Diary of a Teenage Girl
TheDiaryOfaTeenageGirl NewTheatricalPoster.jpg
Theatrical release poster
Directed by Marielle Heller
Screenplay byMarielle Heller
Based on The Diary of a Teenage Girl: An Account in Words and Pictures
by Phoebe Gloeckner
Produced by
  • Miranda Bailey
  • Anne Carey
  • Bert Hamelinck
  • Madeline Samit
Starring
Cinematography Brandon Trost
Edited by
Music byNate Heller
Production
companies
Distributed by Sony Pictures Classics
Release dates
  • January 24, 2015 (2015-01-24)(Sundance)
  • August 7, 2015 (2015-08-07)(United States)
Running time
102 minutes [1] [2]
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$2 million [3]
Box office$2.3 million [4]

The Diary of a Teenage Girl is a 2015 American comedy-drama film written and directed by Marielle Heller, based on the hybrid novel of the same name by Phoebe Gloeckner. It stars Bel Powley as a 15-year-old girl who becomes sexually active by starting a relationship with her mother's boyfriend. It also stars Kristen Wiig, Alexander Skarsgård, Christopher Meloni, Quinn Nagle, and Austin Lyon. It premiered at the 2015 Sundance Film Festival and had a limited release on August 7, 2015, by Sony Pictures Classics. [2]

Contents

Plot

In 1976 San Francisco, 15-year-old aspiring cartoonist Minnie begins keeping an audio diary. She is stirred by her awakening sexuality and wants to lose her virginity. She fears she may be unattractive.

When Minnie's bohemian mother Charlotte is too busy to go out with her boyfriend Monroe, she suggests he take Minnie out instead. At a bar, they flirt and she tells him she wants to sleep with him. They begin meeting at his apartment and having sex. She shares the details of her sexual experiences with her friend Kimmie, and records them in her audio diary.

At a comic book store, Minnie sees cartoonist Aline Kominsky signing books. She mails Aline her first comic, about a woman walking through town.

Minnie sleeps twice with her schoolmate Ricky, but he finds her sexual enthusiasm intimidating. At a bar, Minnie and Kimmie decide to pose as prostitutes. They fellate two boys in the bathroom, but the next day agree it was a bad choice. Minnie's stepfather, Pascal, calls from New York City and invites Minnie to live with him, but she declines.

Charlotte loses her job as a librarian. So, Minnie and her younger sister Gretel ask Pascal for money, and though he is irritated, he sends the family a check. After a wild party, Minnie, Kimmie, and Monroe have a threesome. Kimmie later says it was a one-off as Minnie seems bothered by it. She adds, it's not as if Minnie loves Monroe.

Minnie realises, and says, that she does love him. She becomes increasingly uncomfortable with her affair with Monroe and he keeps breaking it off saying it is wrong only to continue having sex with her. Yet, when she wants sex, he acts too tired or pushes her down to give him a blow job. Her own satisfaction is a minor consideration.

Minnie goes round to confront Monroe but he says he didn't sleep the night before and needs a nap. Minnie is annoyed but lets him climb into bed. She lies down too and then he coaxes her into talking dirty about a guy she met at the cinema and then asks if it would hurt her if they were to have sex.

After they have sex and take acid together, Minnie sees herself covered in feathers and flying but Monroe has a bad trip, convinced they are being watched. During the trip he tells Minnie he loves her and she realizes that she no longer cares for him. Monroe begins making plans for them to be together when she is 18 and Minnie leaves him.

Charlotte grows suspicious of the relationship between Minnie and Monroe, but he convinces her that she is imagining things. Charlotte discovers Minnie's audio diary, and confronts them. She decides that Minnie and Monroe must now marry, which he agrees to. Minnie runs away from home in disgust and begins seeing a risk-taking lesbian, Tabatha. When Tabatha brings her to a drug dealer, having told him that Minnie will have sex with him for the drugs, Minnie returns to her family.

Minnie finds a letter from Aline encouraging her to draw more comics. Selling her comics and zines on the beach, Minnie runs into Monroe. She is cold towards him, and they go their separate ways. She reflects on her emotional growth and realizes that the only way to find happiness is by loving herself, not by depending on another person's affection.

Cast

Production

Development

Writer and director Heller received Phoebe Gloeckner's graphic novel The Diary of a Teenage Girl as a Christmas gift from her younger sister in 2007. [5] Of the book, Heller said it "just lit something up inside of me when I first read it. It felt closer to capturing what a real teenage girl feels than anything I’d ever read. And there is such a void onscreen of the voices of authentic teenage girls." [6] Over the next few years Heller adapted the graphic novel into a play, in which she played the lead role. [7] Gloeckner gave her consent to Heller's stage adaptation after attending a read-through, saying "[Marielle] created something so moving, and it was the first time I had seen the characters in three dimensions. It was like being in a hologram, seeing ghosts from my past wandering around." [6] [7]

The play was originally conceived with Rachel Eckerling and then developed from 2007 to 2010 with Eckerling and Sarah Cameron Sunde. Sunde and Eckerling went on to co-direct the full production. [8] The Diary of a Teenage Girl play premiered at 3LD Arts and Technology Center, produced by Aaron Louis in association with New Georges and The Essentials. [8] The production design functioned as an immersive theatrical experience with a carpeted sunken living room and pillows for the audience to sit on, and video and actors' actions took place in a full surround environment. [9] It was critically acclaimed and ran for six weeks in March–April 2010. [10] [7] In adapting the book into a film, Heller went through "roughly 85 drafts" of the script. [6] [7]

Filming

On January 10, 2014, Kristen Wiig, Alexander Skarsgård, and Bel Powley were reported to have joined the cast of the film as leads. [11] Powley auditioned for the role of Minnie by submitting a tape from England in which she did an American accent throughout, convincing Heller she actually was American. [12] Caviar co-financed with Cold Iron Pictures, and co-produced with Archer Gray Productions. [13] Principal photography began on January 10, 2014, in San Francisco, California, and continued into February. [11] [14] [15]

Release

The film had its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival on January 24, 2015. [16] Shortly after, it was announced Sony Pictures Classics had acquired distribution rights to the film. [3] The film was given a limited release on August 7, 2015. [4]

In the United Kingdom, the film was the subject of some controversy because of the decision of the BBFC to give it an "18" certificate. [17]

Critical reception

On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 95% based on 164 reviews, with an average rating of 7.93/10. The website's critics consensus reads: "Boldly unconventional and refreshingly honest, Diary of a Teenage Girl is a frank coming-of-age story that addresses its themes—and its protagonist—without judgment." [18] On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 87 out of 100, based on 35 critics, indicating "universal acclaim". [19]

Indiewire described the film as "genuine, poignant and hilarious." [20] The Guardian gave it five out of five stars and called it "morally complex and sometimes uncomfortably close to the bone, but also lushly bawdy and funny, and packaged together with an astonishing degree of cinematic brio." [21] Emily St. James of Vox praised the movie for being “quietly radical”, describing it as “a story of huge emotions and big moments, told via intimate gestures and tiny power shifts”. [22]

Accolades

At the 2015 Sundance Film Festival, Brandon Trost won the Special Jury Award for Cinematography. [23] At the 2015 Berlin International Film Festival, the film won the Grand Prix of Generation 14plus section for best feature-length film. [24]

At the 2015 Independent Spirit Awards, the film won Best First Feature and was nominated for Best First Screenplay and Bel Powley for Best Female Lead. [25] [26]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Phoebe Gloeckner</span> American artist

Phoebe Louise Adams Gloeckner is an American cartoonist, illustrator, painter, and novelist.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wendi McLendon-Covey</span> American actress and comedian

Wendi McLendon-Covey is an American actress known primarily for her work in comedic and improvisational roles. From 2013 until 2023, she played the role of family matriarch Beverly Goldberg on the ABC comedy series The Goldbergs, for which she was nominated for two Critics' Choice Television Awards for Best Actress in a Comedy Series.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kristen Wiig</span> American actress and comedian (born 1973)

Kristen Carroll Wiig is an American actress, comedian, screenwriter and producer. First breaking through as a performer with the Los Angeles comedy troupe The Groundlings, Wiig achieved stardom during her seven-season tenure on the NBC sketch comedy series Saturday Night Live from 2005 to 2012.

Barry Mendel is an American film producer. Mendel first produced Wes Anderson’s Rushmore starring Jason Schwartzman and Bill Murray, which won two Film Independent Spirit Awards for Best Director and Best Supporting Actor. This was followed by The Sixth Sense, directed by M. Night Shyamalan, which was nominated for six Academy Awards including Best Picture. Subsequently, he produced Shyamalan's follow-up, Unbreakable, then went back to work with Anderson on The Royal Tenenbaums, which was Oscar-nominated for Best Original Screenplay. Their collaboration continued on The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou, which Mendel followed by producing Joss Whedon’s feature film directorial debut, Serenity. Mendel next conceived, developed and produced Munich, directed by Steven Spielberg, which was nominated for five Academy Awards including Best Picture. He then produced Whip It, Drew Barrymore’s debut as a feature director, which starred Elliot Page and Kristen Wiig. Mendel produced another film with Page, Peacock, which co-starred Cillian Murphy and Susan Sarandon.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bel Powley</span> British actress (born 1992)

Isobel Dorothy Powley is an English actress. Born and raised in London, Powley was educated at Holland Park School. She began acting as a teenager on television, starring on the CBBC action television series M.I. High (2007–2008), the period miniseries Little Dorrit (2008), the crime series Murderland (2009), and the ITV sitcom Benidorm (2014).

<i>Adventureland</i> (film) 2009 American film

Adventureland is a 2009 American romantic comedy-drama film written and directed by Greg Mottola, starring Jesse Eisenberg and Kristen Stewart and co-starring Ryan Reynolds, Kristen Wiig, Bill Hader, Martin Starr, and Margarita Levieva. Set in the summer of 1987, recent college grad James Brennan (Eisenberg) is making big plans to tour Europe and attend graduate school in pursuit of a career in journalism. However, financial problems force him to look for a summer job instead of traveling abroad, which places him at Adventureland, a run-down amusement park in western Pennsylvania and loosely based on the "Adventureland" local theme park in Farmingdale, New York. There he meets Emily Lewin (Stewart), a co-worker with whom he develops a quick rapport and relationship.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marielle Heller</span> American director, writer and actress

Marielle Stiles Heller is an American director, screenwriter and actress. She is best known for directing the films The Diary of a Teenage Girl (2015), Can You Ever Forgive Me? (2018), and A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood (2019), as well as acting in The Queen’s Gambit (2020).

<i>Bridesmaids</i> (2011 film) 2011 film by Paul Feig

Bridesmaids is a 2011 American comedy film directed by Paul Feig, written by Annie Mumolo and Kristen Wiig, and produced by Judd Apatow, Barry Mendel, and Clayton Townsend. The story centers on Annie, who suffers a series of misfortunes after being asked to serve as maid of honor for her best friend Lillian. The film also stars Rose Byrne, Wendi McLendon-Covey, Ellie Kemper, Melissa McCarthy, and Chris O'Dowd.

<i>The Skeleton Twins</i> 2014 American film

The Skeleton Twins is a 2014 American comedy-drama film directed by Craig Johnson and starring Bill Hader and Kristen Wiig. The film premiered in competition at 2014 Sundance Film Festival on January 18, 2014. It won the Screenwriting Award: U.S. Dramatic at the festival. Wiig and Hader play twins in the film. The film received positive reviews; critics praised Johnson's direction and the performances of Hader and Wiig.

<i>Girl Most Likely</i> 2012 American comedy film directed by Shari Springer Berman and Robert Pulcini

Girl Most Likely is a 2012 American comedy film directed by Shari Springer Berman and Robert Pulcini. Based on a screenplay by Michelle Morgan, the film stars Kristen Wiig as a playwright who stages a suicide in an attempt to win back her ex, only to wind up in the custody of her gambling-addict mother, played by Annette Bening. Matt Dillon, Christopher Fitzgerald, Natasha Lyonne, and Darren Criss co-star.

<i>Welcome to Me</i> 2014 American film

Welcome to Me is a 2014 American comedy-drama film directed by Shira Piven and written by Eliot Laurence. The film stars Kristen Wiig as Alice Klieg, a lottery winner with borderline personality disorder who uses her newfound wealth to write and star in her own syndicated talk show. The cast includes James Marsden, Linda Cardellini and Wes Bentley. The film was released on May 1, 2015 in a limited release, receiving generally positive reviews from critics.

<i>Nasty Baby</i> 2015 film

Nasty Baby is a 2015 Chilean-American drama film written and directed by Sebastián Silva and starring Kristen Wiig, Silva, and Tunde Adebimpe alongside Reg E. Cathey, Mark Margolis, Agustín Silva, Alia Shawkat, Lillias White, and Anthony Chisholm.

<i>Mary Shelley</i> (film) 2017 period-drama film

Mary Shelley is a 2017 romantic period-drama film directed by Haifaa al-Mansour and written by Emma Jensen. The plot follows Mary Shelley's first love and her romantic relationship with the poet Percy Bysshe Shelley, which inspired her to write her 1818 novel Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus. An international co-production, the film stars Elle Fanning as Shelley, with Maisie Williams, Douglas Booth, Bel Powley, and Ben Hardy in supporting roles.

<i>A Royal Night Out</i> 2015 film by Julian Jarrold

A Royal Night Out is a 2015 British romantic comedy-drama film directed by Julian Jarrold and written by Trevor de Silva and Kevin Hood. The film stars Sarah Gadon as the teenaged Princess Elizabeth, who, with younger sister Princess Margaret, ventures out of Buckingham Palace to enjoy the VE Day celebrations.

<i>The Diary of a Teenage Girl: An Account in Words and Pictures</i> 2002 book by Phoebe Gloeckner

The Diary of a Teenage Girl: An Account in Words and Pictures is a diaristic graphic novel by author and artist Phoebe Gloeckner. It is notable for its hybrid form, composed of both prose and "comics" passages, each contributing to the narrative.

<i>Carrie Pilby</i> (film) 2016 film by Susan Johnson

Carrie Pilby is a 2016 American comedy-drama film directed by Susan Johnson and written by Kara Holden and Dean Craig, based on the best-selling novel of the same name by Caren Lissner. The film stars Bel Powley, Nathan Lane, Gabriel Byrne, Jason Ritter, William Moseley, Vanessa Bayer, and Colin O'Donoghue. Principal photography began on December 14, 2015, in New York City.

The Diary of a Teenage Girl is a play in one-act by Marielle Heller based on the novel of the same name by Phoebe Gloeckner. The play was first performed at the 3LD Art & Technology Center in New York City in 2010. It was produced by Aaron Louis in association with New Georges & The Essentials and starred writer Marielle Heller in the lead role of Minnie Goetze. The original production was directed by Sarah Cameron Sunde and Rachel Eckerling.

<i>Wildling</i> (film) 2018 American film

Wildling is a 2018 American horror fantasy film written and directed by Fritz Böhm in his feature directorial debut, from a screenplay by Böhm and Florian Eder. It stars Liv Tyler, Bel Powley, Brad Dourif, Collin Kelly-Sordelet, Mike Faist, and James LeGros. The film follows a teenage girl who uncovers a dark secret behind her traumatic childhood in the fictional Onatah County.

Rona Morison is a Scottish actress and narrator. She played Chell in Our Ladies in 2019 and Thompson in Absentia in 2020.

Diary of a Teenage Girl is a series of Christian young adult novels by Melody Carlson.

References

  1. ↑ "The Diary of a Teenage Girl (18)". British Board of Film Classification . May 21, 2015. Retrieved May 21, 2015.
  2. 1 2 "The Diary of a Teenage Girl (2015)". Box Office Mojo. April 5, 2015. Retrieved May 5, 2015.
  3. 1 2 Fleming, Mike Jr. (January 27, 2015). "Sony Pictures Classics Confirms 'Diary Of A Teenage Girl' Deal – Sundance". Deadline Hollywood .
  4. 1 2 "The Diary of a Teenage Girl (2015)". The Numbers. Retrieved March 12, 2016.
  5. ↑ Reilly, Phoebe (January 28, 2015). "Sundance 2015: Sex, Drugs and 'Diary of a Teenage Girl'". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on January 31, 2015. Retrieved February 26, 2015.
  6. 1 2 3 Zack, Jessica (August 5, 2015). "Inside 'Diary of a Teenage Girl': how it came to film". SFGATE. Retrieved March 10, 2023.
  7. 1 2 3 4 Buckley, Cara (July 29, 2015). "The Birds and the Bees as Seen at 15, in 'The Diary of a Teenage Girl'". The New York Times . ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved March 10, 2023.
  8. 1 2 "3LD Art & Technology Center Presents THE DIARY OF A TEENAGE GIRL Starting 3/15". BroadwayWorld.com. March 15, 2010. Retrieved March 10, 2023.
  9. ↑ Collins, Sean T. (March 30, 2010). "'I'm better than you, you son of a bitch': a review of The Diary of a Teenage Girl: The Play". CBR. Retrieved March 10, 2023.
  10. ↑ "Theater Listings: April 23 — 29". The New York Times. April 22, 2010. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved March 10, 2023.
  11. 1 2 McNary, Dave (January 10, 2014). "Kristen Wiig, Alexander Skarsgard on 'Diary of a Teenage Girl'". Variety . Retrieved January 30, 2014.
  12. ↑ "Marielle Heller's Sundance Hit 'Diary of a Teenage Girl' Explores a Sexual Coming-of-Age". sundance.org. August 13, 2015. Retrieved April 19, 2023.
  13. ↑ "Powley to star in Diary". screendaily.com. January 10, 2014. Retrieved January 30, 2014.
  14. ↑ "Alexander Skarsgard spotted filming 'Diary of a Teenage Girl' in San Francisco". onlocationvacations.com. January 22, 2014. Archived from the original on January 27, 2014.
  15. ↑ @Chris_Meloni (February 4, 2014). "In San Fran shooting 'The Diary of A Teenage Girl' with #KristenWiig & #AlexSkarsgard. Love this place" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  16. ↑ "The Diary of a Teenage Girl". Sundance Institute. Archived from the original on February 1, 2015.
  17. ↑ Silver, Laura (July 24, 2015). ""The Diary Of A Teenage Girl" Star Bel Powley Said Teens Should Get A Fake ID To See The Film". BuzzFeed News .
  18. ↑ "The Diary of a Teenage Girl (2015)". Rotten Tomatoes . Retrieved May 11, 2020.
  19. ↑ "The Diary of a Teenage Girl Reviews". Metacritic . Retrieved May 11, 2020.
  20. ↑ Jhaveri, Anisha (January 25, 2015). "Sundance Review: 'The Diary of a Teenage Girl' Unlocks the Secrets of Adolescence". Indiewire. Retrieved January 29, 2015.
  21. ↑ Felperin, Leslie (August 6, 2015). "The Diary of a Teenage Girl review – a scaldingly honest coming-of-age comedy". the Guardian. Retrieved August 18, 2015.
  22. ↑ St. James, Emily (August 22, 2015). "The quietly radical Diary of a Teenage Girl turns the page on coming-of-age films". Vox . Vox Media.
  23. ↑ "Film Grad Brandon Trost Wins Sundance Special Jury Award for Best Cinematography". The Los Angeles Film School. February 6, 2015. Retrieved April 19, 2023.
  24. ↑ Roxborough, Scott (February 13, 2015). "Berlin: 'A Diary of a Teenage Girl' Wins Generation Sidebar". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved February 15, 2015.
  25. ↑ "Spirit Awards: 'The Diary of a Teenage Girl' Wins Best First Feature". The Hollywood Reporter . February 27, 2016. Retrieved September 16, 2016.
  26. ↑ von Zumwalt, Nate (November 15, 2015). "Spirit Awards: 'Tangerine,' 'Diary of a Teenage Girl,' 'It Follows' Lead Sundance-Supported Noms". sundance.org. Retrieved April 19, 2023.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.