The Diary of a Teenage Girl

In narrative terms, The Diary of a Teenage Girl has an afterschool special vibe as it unspools a story about an impressionable 15-year-old girl who indulges in sex with a much older man when a permissive, dysfunctional family life offers her no guidance. But filmmaker Marielle Heller's treatment of Phoebe Gloeckner's semi-autobiographical graphic novel refuses to mute the story's raw quality or paint the characters in bland, simplistic tones. It also features a career-making performance by Bel Powley as Minnie, a precocious, articulate, artistically-inclined teen in 1970s San Francisco, whose mother Charlotte (Kristen Wiig) is very much a child of the time, embracing a freewheeling lifestyle rife with drugs and booze that leaves little time for bringing up her daughters. The only other regular adult presence is Charlotte's current boyfriend, Monroe (Alexander Skarsgård), a handsome laidback guy whose bemused mellowness offers an oasis of stability in the fraught household. Minnie and Monroe's eventual relationship is presented in gritty, realistic terms without being sensational, treating intimate sequences with sensitivity and animation that is delivered in a semi-psychedelic style derived from Minnie's own artistic efforts. The result is a cautionary tale with bite—a provocative, edgy portrayal of teen sexuality that is often hard to watch but even harder to forget. Recommended. [Note: DVD/Blu-ray extras include audio commentary by director Marielle Heller and co-stars Bel Powley and Alexander Skarsgård, an LA Film Festival Q&A with Heller, Powley, and Skarsgård (25 min.), “Marielle's Journey: Bringing the Diary to Life” making-of featurette (23 min.), deleted scenes (6 min.), and trailers. Exclusive to the Blu-ray release is a bonus UltraViolet copy of the film. Bottom line: a fine extras package for a winning film.] (F. Swietek)