Tanner Hall is a vivid peek into the private world of an all-girls boarding school. In a cozy, but run-down New England, the knot of adolescent complexity is unraveled through the coming-of-... Read allTanner Hall is a vivid peek into the private world of an all-girls boarding school. In a cozy, but run-down New England, the knot of adolescent complexity is unraveled through the coming-of-age stories of four teenage girls.Tanner Hall is a vivid peek into the private world of an all-girls boarding school. In a cozy, but run-down New England, the knot of adolescent complexity is unraveled through the coming-of-age stories of four teenage girls.
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- Awards
- 2 wins total
- Roxanne
- (as Susie Misner)
- Margaret
- (as Alaina Steinberg)
- Mr. Tependris
- (as Konstantine Kakanias)
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Featured reviews
To me this movie has a very Sofia Copploa vibe to it, it seemed to me like a cross between The Virgin Suicides and the Eva Green film Cracks, the music, the colors, the actors, the setting, they all have a very Sofia Copploa tone to them, it's very atmospheric in that aspect. Georgia King is really the only character I didn't enjoy, she's so selfish and unhappy in her own life that she decides to bring everyone else down with her, but I suppose she's not a character that you're meant to like, King should tread very carefully as she is in danger if being typecast ad the bitchy English girl at a boarding school as she played a similar role in Wild Child. If there was one story I would have liked to see more it would have been Lucasta's sexual acceptance, it's a story that is I'm sure very common in all girl schools.
Rooney Mara is so impressive, she is perfectly understated in her role, not too much, not enough, just right, and Brie Larson does her sassy attitude thing splendidly. I also loved Chris Kattan and Amy Sedaris, they brought so much humor to a serious film, and the director knew just when to have them in a scene, they were used to perfection.
I'm not a girl and I enjoyed this film, but I have to say this is really only one for the gals, but it's great no matter what, highly recommended.
Tanner Hall is an all girls (with the exception of the Head Mistress's son Peter as played by Ryan Schira) somewhere in New England: the stately buildings are crumbling just like the lives of the girls who study there. Fernanda (Rooney Mara sans piercings and tattoos!) relates the story by remembering a time in her childhood when her friend Victoria (Georgia King) committed an act of meanness - allowing an old lady's pet parrot to escape. Hold that thought.
At the school Fernanda, Kate (Brie Larson) and Lucasta (Amy Ferguson0 are best friends and when Victoria is dropped off to yet another new boarding school by her abusive mother she joins the clack. From this point the entries into love, alienation, mischief, decisions about sexuality, and adultery color the fragments of the film. Gio (Tom Everett Scott) is married and expecting a baby but falls for Fernanda and the two have a challenging relationship. Lucasta must face her conflict as to her needs and rebuffs physical advances form delivery boy Hank (Shawn Pyfrom), and Kate flirts with teacher Mr. Middleton (Chris Kattan) married to the sex obsessed and frustrated Mrs. Middleton (Amy Sedaris). Victoria is left yearning for the world of relationships to make sense but not finding the path. There is the beginning of a storyline as the girls escape confinement with Victoria's theft of a key, but that eventually goes nowhere except fizzle.
The themes of the film have been used before - and will be used again: girls becoming women is a never ending source of story material. The aspect that makes this little film shine is the presence of the fine acting of Rooney Mara, Georgia King, Brie Larson, and Amy Ferguson. They are a pleasure to watch perform. Grady Harp, March 12
Staffed with a cast of A-level young talent (led by Rooney Mara, Georgia King and the sizzling Brie Larson), this New England boarding school ensemble flick rolls through scenes with no clear cut story arc, instead playing through as a glimpse into the lives of a group of A-level teen girls going through the way crazy stage of puberty, full blast. Pure fire.
We see details of relationships morphing when the new girl, Victoria (King), arrives and fearlessly stomps her way into the pack or sisters. The crew's soul captain, Fernanda (Mara), is the most powerful and interesting character, and she's brought to life with grace by the Girl With the Dragon Tats herself. It's a performance that could've maybe even been considered legendary, had only Tanner Hall been treated as a major release. Mara's moves are so good that we have to assume this was the film that helped David Fincher find his new discovery.
Imagine if Sophia Coppola rewrote the Little Women script for John Hughes in the late 80s and you'll have a good idea of the haunting appeal that is Tanner Hall. As far as film art and storytelling goes, this is one of the great surprises of 2011. An incredible mix of design, writing and performance. Better late than never.
Overall I found it to be moderately interesting but quickly forgettable. Nothing really novel here but interesting to see several actresses early in their careers.
I found it on Amazon streaming movies.
But I prefer my birds to be bright and chirpy and flying about fluttering like cute little angels. Which is not exactly the character Rooney portrays, but you get my drift. I mean, just look at lovely, lovely Rooney in the opening sequence as she gets driven to school by her mother, chewing a piece of gum, much to Mom's chagrin. She looks like a cuter version of Elisha Dushku. She has a cheekbone structure to die for. Has got to be one of the prettiest actresses on film. Hell, people, if I looked like that, and they offered me like gazillion bucks to appear in a hit movie, I'd think about what I'd miss every time I passed a mirror. And, on top of that, the even better part that would have come her way anyway, so scrooo your dragon tattoo offer...! That scene with Rooney with the guy and the car amidst the autumn leaves, makes me think of an ad campaign with the slogan 'it doesn't get any better than this.' This is a small movie, with a bad girl that really isn't well-defined, as the Georgia King portrayal turns out to be ultimately toothless. The more well-defined bad girl, the naughty one, the Brie Larson portrayal, as Kate, is more the one that does something awful. She gets banished from the script, unsatisfactorily so. Roller-skating in place, an untimely dismissal...
There are some laughable performances. Amy Sidaris and her weakling hubby should have been recast. What were they thinking, those two were a wrecking crew. Georgia King was a storm-in-a-teacup kind of adversary. She should have upped her game play at least tenfold. Brie Larson was excellent. Anybody who could come to class (barely-)dressed up for the plum female part of A Midsummer Night's Dream looking like that, wow! But apart from her obvious beauty, she was also entirely convincing.
Plot has its weak points, but for a dedicated girl-watcher, lots to cheer about. Loads more fun than TGWTDT.
The decaying, crumbling castle was an excellent choice of location. Does it really exist? No such place found on Google.
I forgot the actress's name, but the woman who played the mean mom, at the time of watching, I thought she'd have made a perfect Alexis Carrington had they done a DYNASTY remake.
Did you know
- TriviaRooney Mara originally auditioned for the supporting role of Lucasta, but co-director/writer Tatiana von Fürstenberg was so impressed by the young actress, she had her return to audition for the lead role of Fernanda, which Mara won. Furstenberg was delighted with her nuanced performance, saying, "Still waters run deep".
- Quotes
Mr. Middlewood: Alright, Kate. Where does it hurt?
Kate: Oh, it's just my leg.
Mr. Middlewood: [touching her leg] Here? Does it feel better when I do this?
Kate: A little bit higher.
Mr. Middlewood: Higher?
Kate: Higher!
- Alternate versionsSome widescreen versions obscures some of the explicit nudity.
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Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Official site
- Language
- Also known as
- 女校青春日記
- Filming locations
- Seaview Terrace, Newport, Rhode Island, USA(Tanner Hall)
- Production company
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Budget
- $3,000,000 (estimated)
- Gross US & Canada
- $5,073
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $2,803
- Sep 11, 2011
- Gross worldwide
- $5,073
- Runtime
- 1h 36m(96 min)
- Color
- Sound mix