Girl Asleep

This is a beautiful and beautifully made movie. The intricacies and absurdities of 70s life are writ large, with over the top set dressing and outfits. Disco dancing and disco moves abound, as Greta discovers herself in this coming of age tale.

It's surreal and enchanting, wafting from real life to dream sequence, you're with it all the way.

A new Australian classic, and certainly something different, both for Aussie cinema and for cinema in general.

It's been out for weeks here in Melbourne, and my Monday evening session was sold out, we missed out the week before for that reason, so it is resonating with audiences. Let it put you under its spell.

Greta is new in town. New school, new friends and she will be turning 15 soon! Some weird fantasies running through her teenage mind. She is confused about herself, not knowing how to get in touch with her peers. And few popular (and mean) school girls make pressure on her. As if that were not bad enough, her mother planned to organize a birthday party with Greta's new school mates...

Bethany Whitmore doing great job here as Greta. You can really feel with her. Unconventional fantasy story give you a thrill. Supporting characters are on the right place. Really good soundtrack with 70's feeling is really enjoyable.

This is an amazing, warm hearted, visually brilliant coming-of-age movie. Watch it!

I really enjoyed this Australian coming of age film with a 1970s vibe. It has a Napoleon Dynamite/Moonrise Kingdom feel with a bit of magic thrown in and if that's what you like, you'll enjoy this. It had a few good one-liners that friends still quote today. The only this missing is an official release of the soundtrack, still most of the song are available to buy individually.

Girl Asleep starts as a stylish coming of age "dramedy" about a misfit teenage girl named Greta who is bullied by three girls at school. Befriended by fellow misfit Elliot, the two form a sweet bond early in Act I where the audience is also introduced to Greta's colorful family which includes a quirky mom, a corny joke-telling dad and an apathetic older sister. Once the 2nd Act gets started, the story starts to gradually deviate and by the time Act III comes around, there's almost a complete shift in mood and genre. What was a light and fun narrative had become this kind of darkly juvenile fantasy adventure; it's disruptive and actually really strange.

This is a coming of age film with a difference. It starts off pretty typically: a teenage Greta on the brink of adulthood struggling to navigate her new world. Starting at a new school and having a 15th birthday party looming forced on her by her well-meaning but clueless mother, she's faced with making some tough decisions regarding the relationships in her life. But after having a falling out with her new best friend at her party, the tone of the movie does a complete 180 as Greta falls asleep and enters a strange dreamland where she's forced to confront her fears about growing up, say goodbye to her childhood and rethink how she views the people in her life. While I really enjoyed this film, I don't think it was adapted from the play very well. The dialogue, direction, style of acting and even some of the special effects are much more suited to the theatre than the cinema. The actors for the most part do an excellent job, but they can't quite shake the staginess of it. Despite it's flaws, it's easy to get lost in the fun, quirkiness of the film and I challenge you to not fall in love with the characters!