Little Women star shines as dancer in coming-of-age drama
The Starling Girl (M, 117 mins) Directed by Laurel Parmet Reviewed by James Croot ****
Scanlen is a revelation ... effectively conveying the gamut of emotions the teen is experiencing, as she tries to navigate being true to herself, not disappointing her parents and honouring God.
Jem Starling (Eliza Scanlen) is never happier than when she’s dancing. A central figure in the Holy Grace dance troupe – “the finest in all Kentucky” – the 17-year-old believes her routines glorify God and reflect his holiness, even if some within her fundamentalist Christian community believe it’s more of a personal vanity project.
Rumours also persist that the pastor’s son, Ben Taylor (Austin Abrams), is keen to court her, something her parents Paul (Jimmi Simpson) and Heidi (Wrenn Schmidt) encourage.
However, as they remind her, she’ll need to be a little more careful about her appearance – a visible bra at a social event providing a teachable moment that leaves her in tears.
Even more distressing, though, is the suggestion that the troupe might have to be disbanded due to the lack of a chaperone. Her solution? To try to persuade youth pastor Owen (Lewis Pullman), recently returned from missionary work in Puerto Rico, that she’s responsible enough to lead the group.
To her delight, he agrees, Jem finding herself increasingly attracted to the charismatic, touch rebellious 28-year-old – even if he is married. Before she knows it, Jem is finding any excuse she can to spend time with him, even reacting badly to his wife Misty’s (Jessamine Burgum) critique of her group’s latest routine.
But after Jem keys her car, Owen is worried she might draw too much attention to their “friendship”, even as he laments that he and Misty “can’t stand each other”, buys his young charge earrings and slips her encouraging notes.
Debuting at last year’s Sundance Film Festival, writer-director Laurel Parmet’s feature debut is a compelling coming-ofage drama featuring a fabulous central performance from Australian actor Scanlen (Little Women).
She’s a revelation as the conflicted and confused Jem, effectively conveying the gamut of emotions the teen is experiencing, as she tries to navigate being true to herself, not disappointing her parents and honouring God.
Given the setting, Parmet’s conceit is naturally a little disturbing and no doubt considered controversial by some, but she juggles it well, never becoming too prurient or sensationalist, but also not condoning, or shying away from, the questions and issues the two main characters’ power-imbalanced relationship raises.
The Starling Girl is available to rent from Neon and iTunes.