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The scariest film I'll probably ever see and I'm only saying that as a parent. If I had no kids, I feel like this film would have been 'okay' and not made me think too hard. But after watching it all I feel is anxiety for the future of my kids and kids in general.
Eighth Grade details the life of a lonely girl making her way through life before she graduates and heads to high school. Directed by Bo Burnham and starring newcomer Elsie Fisher, this is the most real depiction of kids in school, you'll probably ever see. It helps that the age we're looking at is younger than high school, so we don't get these adults pretending to be teens. We get actual kids on the screen, braces and acne on full display.
It makes me look back on my youth and if I would have fit into any of the cliques. To be honest, I was just there. I wasn't a popular kid, nor an outsider. I had friends, was funny and did pretty well in my classes. The most memorable thing about me I believe was that I was the only one dating someone else in the class. We didn't make it past the summer to high school.
Eighth Grade shows how much kids feel the pressure and need to 'perform' on social media. It's this constant need for attention that they might feel they are not getting at home, or that they think they need to get in order to be on the inside. Watching this girl stumble through her VLOG about whatever, was cringe worthy. You know right from the get-go what type of person she is and what type of person she wants to be. Fisher gives a realistic performance, full of awkwardness and "umms". Those umms add to the realistic nature Burnham wants to depict here. Kids talk like this, not everything spits eloquently fine tuned dialogue. It sounds cool, but feels fake. Eighth Grade strips that down and gives us the nitty gritty of how kids talk.
I don't know if Burnham is interested in directing more films or what direction he thinks he needs to go in after this, but he has a talent that I feel will bloom in some years. He himself comes from the youtube age and has made great successes for himself. His stand-up is funny and unique enough to showcase his talents. I do expect to see more of him in some capacity in the future.
Eighth Grade
The scariest film I'll probably ever see and I'm only saying that as a parent. If I had no kids, I feel like this film would have been 'okay' and not made me think too hard. But after watching it all I feel is anxiety for the future of my kids and kids in general.
Eighth Grade details the life of a lonely girl making her way through life before she graduates and heads to high school. Directed by Bo Burnham and starring newcomer Elsie Fisher, this is the most real depiction of kids in school, you'll probably ever see. It helps that the age we're looking at is younger than high school, so we don't get these adults pretending to be teens. We get actual kids on the screen, braces and acne on full display.
It makes me look back on my youth and if I would have fit into any of the cliques. To be honest, I was just there. I wasn't a popular kid, nor an outsider. I had friends, was funny and did pretty well in my classes. The most memorable thing about me I believe was that I was the only one dating someone else in the class. We didn't make it past the summer to high school.
Eighth Grade shows how much kids feel the pressure and need to 'perform' on social media. It's this constant need for attention that they might feel they are not getting at home, or that they think they need to get in order to be on the inside. Watching this girl stumble through her VLOG about whatever, was cringe worthy. You know right from the get-go what type of person she is and what type of person she wants to be. Fisher gives a realistic performance, full of awkwardness and "umms". Those umms add to the realistic nature Burnham wants to depict here. Kids talk like this, not everything spits eloquently fine tuned dialogue. It sounds cool, but feels fake. Eighth Grade strips that down and gives us the nitty gritty of how kids talk.
I don't know if Burnham is interested in directing more films or what direction he thinks he needs to go in after this, but he has a talent that I feel will bloom in some years. He himself comes from the youtube age and has made great successes for himself. His stand-up is funny and unique enough to showcase his talents. I do expect to see more of him in some capacity in the future.