Miss Stevens

This is a comedy/drama that centers around a young female teacher who acts as a chaperone for 3 drama students en route to and during a state competition. On the way to the competition, it is painfully obvious to the audience that Margot (Lili Reinhart) and Sam (Anthony Quintal) like their teacher, but are unable to connect with her, whereas, conversely, Billy (Timothy Chalamet) reveals several common interests/characteristics.

Upon their arrival to the hotel, the audience is shown how awkward and socially reclusive the titular Miss Stevens (Lily Rabe) is. She engages in a few activities simply for the sake of doing something. She halfheartedly attempts to forge relationships with men, regardless of if they have anything in common. This led me to believe that Miss Stevens was anxious to do the same sort of things that other girls her age do, even if they aren't necessarily things she's actually committed to or enjoying. Sam and Margot are a little more open and blunt with their teacher, while Billy seems to truly take in the things she says.

I thought this was a nice commentary on how people can be very different from one another, and how sometimes you can find things in common with those you least expect. Over the course of just a few days, Billy and Miss Stevens create a strong sense of camaraderie and kinship. There were a few instances in which (I'll admit) I was preparing myself for the worst, but the relationship between teacher and student remained wholesome, with which I was pleased.

Based on how I loved Timothée Chalamet's performance in Call Me by Your Name, I decided to watch this as soon as I found it on Netflix. And here, he stars alongside actresses from American Horror Story (Lily Rabe) and Riverdale (Lili Reinhart). While Call Me by Your Name was touching, I don't know, something about Miss Stevens hit me even harder. Maybe it's because I've never necessarily experienced love and heartbreak like Elio Perlman did; I found myself feeling sorrier for Billy, because he's a young teen suffering from depression, and there's this scene - without giving much away - where he tells Stevens, who he's formed a bit of a connection with, how his medication just makes him feel numb, but has been feeling great for the whole weekend. I also happen to adore stories in which teachers bond with their students. This has pretty much cemented my love for indie films.

Also, I actually thought that Billy and Rachel were going to become romantically involved, and was ready to join in on the meme by saying: "Gee, Timothée! How come your mom lets you have two older partners?"

A decent movie that was easy to watch! Acting was over the top with Timothee Chalamet, who reminds me of a young Ezra Miller, who can flat out act even with a mediocre script such as this one! Chalamet hits it out of the ballpark on a nasty curve ball. The script felt like it had a strong base, but missed out on a lot of opportunities in areas it could have explored. All along it felt as though it was barely touching on some of the content such as Chalamet's character Billy who is off his depression drugs, the teacher played by Lily Rabe who had deep under lying problems and it just skirts along that edge, and even Anthony Quintal who plays Sam a student who is gay- who meets another gay student at the drama contest they and comes to Miss Stevens hotel room and has been rejected. Again lots and lots of huge missed opportunities!! I knows you can only fits so much into a movie, but still there was a lot left untouched and not explored. Simply put the excellent acting carries what was given to them, still this movie could have easily been much more than it was!!

There is so much that must come together to create a special movie. The acting, the plot, direction, editing and that intangible something extra.

This movie scores high on all of those. The plot is not formulaic. It doesn't always take the viewer where they expect to go. I appreciate that so much. While it is fundamentally a character study of Miss Stevens, there is a multi-layered plot that intertwines many, smaller, but all deep, and enjoyable subplots.

Timothee Chalamet once again proves why he is one of the best actors of his generation. He is extraordinary. Lily Rabe is wonderful in this as well. I've always enjoyed her work, typically as a supporting actor, but seeing her in a lead performance reinforces my belief that she is underrated. She is a great actor.

Some elements of the plot may be uncomfortable, but that's what makes for good art.

I highly recommend this movie.

I really enjoyed Miss Stevens in a way I didn't think I would. The story was emotional, felt real and really drew me in. There were some moments especially in the first act that almost felt like something big was going to happen but it never did. But that just added to the feeling of honesty and reality that I love in this movie. All the acting is top notch especially from Timothée Chalamet. His performance is layered and touching and he is incredibly magnetic to watch. Check this movie out if you have 90 minutes to kill and have a Netflix account. You won't be disappointed.