The View from Tall

I was moved most by the portrayal of the relationship between Christine and Paula. The two sisters. Because it reminded me of the one I had with my sister when we were younger. This is a story about the relationships, the special relationships between those who are, or should be, in our lives. They are supposed to make us better. Quench the loneliness of being who we are. Because no one else can be us, truly us, we must let others into our lives. Often though, we don't question enough who we let in. Or, why we keep them in our lives. Because if we did, then we might not chose to let them in at all. If we let them get too close, then they could hurt us. But if we don't, then we could go on being lonely. If we give in to them, can we trust them with the fragility of who we are? If we don't, will we ever learn who we are?

It's also a story about going away to somewhere we haven't been before so that we can start life over again. Because it's about starting over that we can have another chance to be the person we can like to be. Because it's other people who make our lives better or worse, for better or worse, we must have relationships with them.

While a number of taboos are explored in this movie, it is worth seeing it through to the end. Because preconceived notions about them do not have to be what we take them for. Because there are real people involved in taboos. People who know not what they are doing, as well as those who do. This is a great story about those who don't know and are seeking to learn.

I didn't know what I was getting myself into with The View From Tall. At first look, I thought it was about someone getting bullied for their height. As the story unfolds, it had me recounting my high school years and thinking through if age is just a number and what role do adults play in "kids" lives. Excellent acting by Amanda Drinkall and Michael Patrick Thornton.

This was such an interesting movie. It was handled so expertly on so many levels ... the acting, the dialog, the story ... almost everything was flawless.

The movie isn't a laugh riot (obviously) but the lead, Christina's, wit makes for some funny, memorable lines. The role of her new friend, the older, Douglas, was masterfully portrayed, neither too saccharine or too clever. Just the perfect amount of a tender soul.

I won't harp on the movie's good points too much, I don't want to oversell it. Just know that it is a great watch, especially if you're in the right mood for it. I cried several times, not even from sorrow or from joy, just overflowing emotions.

That said, I only had two reservations about this film. Neither of them are fatal flaws though. In fact, it may be more just me and other viewers wouldn't think twice about them.

First, the actions of the younger sister, Paula, and the way she constantly denigrates her older sister, the protagonist, Christine. It is well done, well acted, and very believable, I just didn't really see the motivation. (And yes, I get that the younger sister was trying to fit in at school so she played the minor antagonist role). I have 3 younger sisters and I am the younger sister to 2 older sisters. None of us would ever, and I mean EVER, not have any one of our sister's backs or choose a stranger's feelings over each other. Again, this is not a flaw in the movie and it IS portrayed realistically. It truly just might be based on my own upbringing. I just had a had time relating to it so it took me out of the scenes several times.

Secondly, and again, this is a minor transgression, I think they cast an actress that was slightly too old to play the lead part of a 17-year old. It's not that she was tall (as the title implies) ... my two older sisters are 5'11" and 6'1". It's just that the entire time I was watching, I felt like this "high schooler" looked more like a mid-20s woman. As soon as I finished the movie, I jumped on the interwebz and started looking. "They" have definitely scrubbed the lead actress's age, but I was able to ascertain that she was probably indeed about 22- 26 when this film was made in 2016.

Nevertheless, because the role was played so phenomenally by actress Amanda Drinkall, I still probably wouldn't have re-cast the lead role. It's just something I noticed.

Thanks for reading my mini-novel.

I left the theater last night very impressed after watching "The View From Tall." The story is well written and the two lead actors, Amanda Drinkall and Michael Patrick Thornton are great. The story is more emotionally complex than the typical teen-coming-of-age plot line. Primarily because we view events from the perspective of a female protagonist who is a complex character rather than the one dimensional, watered-down girl we usually see from our mass media. Illicit romance, family conflict and school bullying are interwoven to create a deep and compelling story.

I watched this film during the Citizen Jane Film Festival.

Why aren't these two actors in more movies or tv shows? They did an excellent job in this movie. I believed both of them. I wanted to see more of them. I wasn't ready for the movie to be over. Yes, some of the topics were very taboo, but the way the two characters helped each other so much made you root for them. I want to see more of these two actors.