Eighth Grade

Don't get me wrong, the movie is amazing. It's just so damn embarrassing. Like I had to pause it several times because of the second hand embarrassment I was having. It feels sooooo real.

I wasn't going to review this film until I read the other reviews. But the way a large number of people so negatively react to this film is a testament to how powerful it really is, and perhaps says more about the film than those reviews themselves ever could.

We live in a world that hates the truth. And "Eighth Grade" is pure truth. The most remarkable thing about the film is how it refrains from dramatizing how young people today grow up and interact, and instead tries to simply show things how they are. You can argue how successful they were in this attempt, but I think they got it pretty close. And some things about growing up are timeless. While the technology may have changed, all of the things Kayla did in the film, I also did at that age. I also came from a broken home and background of trauma, and I was also not popular. One review said that you had to be a loser to like this film, and maybe there is more than a nugget of truth there. The kid who was head of the class in Grade 8 might have a tough time relating.

The film does very little to explain all this to the viewer, and does not make any attempt to show why Kayla is how she is. This is fascinating because that is exactly how our society, and in particular teen society, works: it is blind to why people are how they are, and simply ruthlessly sorts them into categories such as attractive/popular and ugly/unpopular. It seems that people who are used to going along with this way of thinking are puzzled and unsettled by the film.

What "Eighth Grade" ultimately is, is a mirror. It simply reflects back to us what our world is. There is no editorialization. So when so many people are recoiling in horror from a mirror, what does that actually say?

Unlike so many of a similar vein, 'Eighth Grade (2018)' isn't about 'kids gone wild' or 'the corruption of a constantly online world'. Rather, it's simply about a good person trying to figure out what it means to be herself. It's both a tender reflection and an in-the-moment snapshot, one that's not fuelled by nostalgia so much as empathy. It's wonderfully authentic and, as such, is incredibly relatable. There's nothing flippant about the flick, either. It comments on the internet, and social-media in particular, without being dismissive of it, never reducing social-media to some sort of blanket 'evil'. It's more nuanced than that, understanding where the root of most problems come from, and wholly accepts the world as it is. It tells a small story with small stakes that sort of seem non-existent - that is, until you remember just how big everything seemed when you were a child. Social anxiety as antagonist is a difficult thing to pull off, yet this does it almost impeccably. It also features one of the best father-daughter relationships I've seen on screen, one which culminates in a truly beautiful fire-side scene. Overall, the piece is pacy, nontraditional and entertaining. It's really uplifting, too. In some ways, it sort of functions as one of its protagonist's self-help videos: no matter how old you are, it tells you that everything is going to be okay. It's delightful. 8/10

While the cringe genre usually brings to mind over the top characters like Michael Scott and Larry David breaking unwritten social rules and making grand buffoonish displays, it rarely cuts this close to home, making you cringe because of how easy it is to relate to. That feeling when there's a conversation around you and you don't know how to jump in. That feeling when you know your lack of confidence is holding you back but you don't have the confidence to do anything about it. While we may carry these feelings into our adult lives, it was the perfect combination of hormones and naiveté that made them hit like a ton of bricks in our formative years. This film is a deep dive into this awkward anxiety that feels oddly personal while being universally relatable. Elsie Fisher is fantastic to the point where you forget she's acting and not just living as the character. The script is equal measures sweet and funny when it's not just downright uncomfortable. Whether or not you grew up with social media (and thank God I didn't), this film will bring you back to your youth and make you appreciate that it's something you only have to go through once.

This movie is a spot on depiction of what school is like in the modern-day. I laughed so many times because the cringey situations are just too real. I felt so much second hand embarrassment for this girl. Great movie with real dialogue.