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The Edge of Seventeen
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Wikipedia article
'The Edge of Seventeen' is a 2016 American coming-of-age comedy-drama film written and directed by Kelly Fremon Craig, in her directorial debut. The film stars Hailee Steinfeld, Woody Harrelson, Kyra Sedgwick, and Haley Lu Richardson.
The film premiered at the 2016 Toronto International Film Festival on September 16, 2016,[https://www.thestar.com/entertainment/movies/2016/11/17/hailee-steinfelds-own-teenage-experience-informed-the-edge-of-seventeen.html "Hailee Steinfelds own teenage experience informed The Edge of Seventeen"] . 'Toronto Star', November 19, 2016. Ryan Portr and was theatrically released on November 18, 2016, by STXfilms.Anthony D'Alessandro, [https://deadline.com/2016/08/edge-of-seventeen-release-date-change-tiff-1201801737/ "The Edge Of Seventeen Moves To November After Being Selected As TIFFs Closing-Night Gala,"] Deadline Hollywood, August 10, 2016
It received positive reviews, with Steinfeld's performance being critically acclaimed, and grossed over $19 million against a budget of $9 million.
Plot
Nadine Franklin, a seventeen-year-old high school junior in the suburbs of Portland, has tempestuous relationships with her popular older brother Darian and her image conscious mother Mona, and only felt close to her father Tom, who died of a heart attack when Nadine was thirteen, leaving her best friend Krista the only person keeping her buoyed.
At Nadine's home, Nadine and Krista get drunk while Darian throws a pool party. Nadine falls asleep and Krista goes downstairs and talks to Darian. The next morning Nadine finds Krista giving a handjob to a naked Darian in bed, straining their friendship. The next day they run into each other at school and Darian tells Krista how much fun he had with her, a sentiment she reciprocates. Nadine feels desperately alone and turns to her classmate Erwin Kim, who has a crush on her, though Nadine is attracted to older student Nick Mossman.
Darian invites Krista to a house party, who insists Nadine join. There, Krista is introduced to other students, leaving Nadine on her own. After failed attempts at mingling, Nadine sits outside with another partygoer, who remarks how inferior Nadine seems compared to her brother, and Nadine leaves the party. She invites Erwin to an amusement park, where his attempt to kiss her is rejected. They still finish their date, and at the end of the night Nadine tells him he is a great guy and they become good friends.
At school, Krista confronts Nadine for ignoring her, and Nadine bitterly tells her that Darian does not care about her and will soon dump her. Offended, Krista retorts by saying he just asked her to be his girlfriend and to prom, which is months away. Insecure, Nadine makes her choose between herself and Darian. Krista does not want to choose, and Nadine angrily ends their friendship.
Mr. Bruner becomes Nadine's source of emotional support at school; she frequently vents to him and he jokingly disarms her by revealing she is his favorite student. Nadine has become lost due to not having Krista. One night Erwin calls Nadine who abruptly hangs up on him. Nadine calls him back soon afterwards, and invites herself to go swimming in his pool, much to his excitement. Nadine learns that his family is wealthy, but absentee after showing up to his large, and luxurious house. She also learns he is a talented animation filmmaker, and accepts his invitation to their school's short-film festival.
Driving to school, Mona and Nadine have an argument that leads to Mona bringing Nadine with her to work. There, they argue about her late father which ends in Mona coldly telling Nadine that if her father were alive today, he would be so disappointed in her. Deeply hurt by this, Nadine steals Mona's car keys and drives away in her mother's car. She writes a sexually explicit text to Nick, and accidentally sends it when trying to delete it.
Nadine confides in Mr. Bruner that she is going to kill herself, and he tries to calm her down. She receives a reply from Nick asking her to hang out. She hurries home and readies for her date, leaving a wake of destruction in her bedroom and bathroom. Mona, still heated from Nadine's car theft earlier that day, bursts into the house yelling for Nadine, only to find that her daughter is gone. She calls Darian, who's with Krista at a soccer team dinner, telling him that Nadine is missing so Darian and Krista leave to find her. Nick picks up Nadine and drives to an abandoned parking lot by the water. While sitting in the car listening to a CD, Nick repeatedly attempts to have sex with Nadine. Nadine pushes him away after each attempt, which makes Nick very frustrated as he believed that due to the nature of her sexually explicit text, she actually wanted to have sex with him. Embarrassed and heartbroken, Nadine runs away and calls Mr. Bruner, who finds her in a nearby diner, and he drives her to his house where they wait with his wife and infant son until Darian arrives. The two heatedly argue as Nadine believes he's only there so he can play the hero to their mother once more. Darian tells Nadine that he has been suffering from the pressures of taking care of the family in their fathers place. Darian confesses that he feels trapped and did not apply to colleges far away because he has to be there for the family and it upsets him that Nadine hates his relationship with Krista, who has become the best person in his life. After Darian leaves, Mr. Bruner takes Nadine home. Nadine goes to Darian and confesses her own feelings of self-hatred, intensified by her envy of Darian. Finally reaching an understanding, they hug, ending their feud.
The following morning as Nadine leaves for the film festival, she runs into Darian and Krista on her way out; the siblings are newly congenial with each other, and the friends reconcile and agree to catch up later. Mona awakens and frantically calls her daughter, who isn't home once again. While waiting for Erwin's film to begin, Nadine sees her mother's messages and missed calls. Realizing that Mona is still worried she has run away, Nadine texts that she is safe, and Mona decides to trust her word. Erwin's animated film is revealed to be a story about an alien boy who falls in love with a girl at high school, but is rejected. The animation strangely resembles Nadine as the girl is wearing sneakers similar to her favorite pair.
After the film, Nadine hands Erwin flowers she picked for him. Nadine then apologizes to Erwin for taking so long to accept his affection. Erwin is congratulated by his friends and his team, and introduces Nadine. She greets them with a smile, finally opening up to others.
Cast
Production
In 2011, screenwriter Kelly Fremon Craig sent a copy of her screenplay, 'Besties', to producer James L. Brooks, hoping that Brooks would produce the film. Craig recalled, "I had written a spec version of this film, and had been just an insane fan of Jim's for years and years. He was the crazy longshot I took in the beginning! And one I never thought would actually work. But I sent him the script and he ended up taking on the project." 'The Edge of Seventeen' is Craig's directorial debut. She also produced the film.
On August 4, 2015, Hailee Steinfeld was cast in the film to play the lead role, while Richard Sakai was also attached as a producer of the film. On September 24, 2015, Woody Harrelson and Kyra Sedgwick joined the film's cast, with Harrelson playing the role of a high school teacher and Sedgwick as the main character's mother. On October 6, 2015, Blake Jenner was cast in the film as Nadine's older brother, a popular and handsome soccer player who begins dating Nadine's best friend Krista. Hayden Szeto was cast in the film as Erwin Kim, Nadine's earnest classmate, who fumbles several attempts to win her affection through much of the story. Haley Lu Richardson joined the film to play the role of Nadine's best friend Krista.
Principal photography on the film began on October 21, 2015, in Hollywood North, then in Anaheim, California. Filming also took place in the Metro Vancouver area, then at Guildford Park Secondary School and near Guildford Town Centre in Surrey, British Columbia. Port Moody was also shown, with the film festival taking place in City Hall. Filming wrapped on December 3, 2015.
Release
'The Edge of Seventeen', distributed by STX Entertainment, was originally scheduled to be released on September 30, 2016, before being moved to November 18. Stage 6 Films and Sony Pictures Releasing International handle some distribution rights to the film outside the United States.
The film was released on Blu-ray and DVD by Universal Home Entertainment on February 14, 2017.
Reception
Box office
'The Edge of Seventeen' grossed $14.4 million in the United States and Canada and $4.4 million in other territories for a total of $18.8 million, against a production budget of $9 million.In North America, the film was released alongside the openings of 'Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them' and 'Bleed for This', as well as the wide expansions of 'Moonlight' and 'Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk', and was initially expected to gross around $8 million from 1,900 theaters. However, after grossing $1.8 million on its first day, weekend projections were lowered to $45 million; it ended up opening with $4.8 million, finishing number seven at the box office.
Critical response
On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 94% based on 216 reviews, with an average rating of 7.90/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "'The Edge of Seventeen's sharp script and Hailee Steinfeld's outstanding lead performance make this more than just another coming-of-age dramedy." On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 77 out of 100, based on 38 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews". Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A" on an A+ to F scale.Accolades
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|- style="background:#ccc; text-align:center;"
! colspan="6" style="background: LightSteelBlue;" | List of awards and nominations
|- style="background:#ccc; text-align:center;"
! Award
! Date of ceremony
! Category
! Recipients
! Result
! class="unsortable"|
|-
| Austin Film Critics Association
| December 28, 2016
| Best First Film
| 'The Edge of Seventeen'
|
|
|-
| Chicago Film Critics Association
| December 15, 2016
| Most Promising Filmmaker
| Kelly Fremon Craig
|
|
|-
| rowspan="3"| Critics' Choice Awards
| rowspan="3"| December 11, 2016
| Best Young Performer
| rowspan="2"| Hailee Steinfeld
|
| rowspan="3"|
|-
| Best Actress in a Comedy
|
|-
| Best Comedy
| Kelly Fremon Craig
|
|-
| rowspan="2"| Detroit Film Critics Society
| rowspan="2"| December 19, 2016
| Best Film
| 'The Edge of Seventeen'
|
| rowspan="2"|
|-
| Best Breakthrough
| Kelly Fremon Craig (director and screenwriter)
|
|-
| Directors Guild of America Awards
| February 4, 2017
| Outstanding Directing First-Time Feature Film
| Kelly Fremon Craig
|
|
|-
| Golden Globe Awards
| January 8, 2017
| Best Actress Motion Picture Comedy or Musical
| Hailee Steinfeld
|
|
|-
| Golden Tomato Awards
| January 12, 2017
| Best Comedy Movie 2016
| rowspan="2"|'The Edge of Seventeen'
|
|
|-
| rowspan=2|MTV Movie & TV Awards
| rowspan=2|May 7, 2017
| Movie of the Year
|
| rowspan=2|
|-
| Best Actor in a Movie
| Hailee Steinfeld
|
|-
| New York Film Critics Circle
| December 1, 2016
| Best First Film
| Kelly Fremon Craig
|
|
|-
| rowspan=2|Teen Choice Awards
| rowspan=2|August 13, 2017
| Choice Movie: Drama
| 'The Edge Of Seventeen'
|
|
|-
| Choice Movie Actress: Drama
| Hailee Steinfeld
|
|
|-
| Toronto Film Critics Association
| December 11, 2016
| Best First Feature
| 'The Edge of Seventeen'
|
|
|-
| Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association
| December 5, 2016
| Best Youth Performance
| rowspan="2"| Hailee Steinfeld
|
|
|-
| Women Film Critics Circle
| December 19, 2016
| Best Young Actress
|
|
|}
Notes
Cancelled spin-off
In May 2018, it was announced that YouTube Premium began development for a spin-off web series based on the film that would be exclusive to their platform. Annabel Oakes would pen the pilot, while Fremon Craig would executive produce the series. In May 2020, it was confirmed by Oakes that the series had been cancelled.
References
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