Puberty is such great fodder for storytelling and humour
PUBERTY is a bizarre, confusing time. You’re changing, your friends are changing, you have no idea what’s going on, what’s going to happen when, or, crucially, whether you’re even normal.
It’s a time of raging hormones and high emotions that we all remember, a universal experience shared, no matter the decade – which is why Judy Blume’s 1970 novel Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret has transcended generations as an enduringly popular, frank discussion of early-adolescent anxieties.
More than 50 years after Judy’s novel was published, the story of 11-year-old Margaret Simon has been reimagined for the big screen by writer-director Kelly Fremon Craig, who was also behind 2016 coming-of-age film The Edge of Seventeen, with Judy as producer.
Chick flick icon Rachel McAdams, who appeared in hits like The Notebook, About Time and Mean Girls, stars as Margaret’s mother Barbara, while the titular pre-teen is played by 15-year-old Ant-Man actress Abby Ryder Fortson.
“I related to Margaret because I was going through the exact same stuff that she was at the exact same time when I was filming the movie,” laughs Abby when we sit down to chat about the story’s enduring appeal.
“Her story is so relatable because the way that Judy wrote it, and the way that it’s portrayed in the film, is so honest, and so true to the experience, and it’s very open about all the things that we go through as human beings.
“I think that one of the reasons why it’s been so well loved throughout all these years, and why it’s still so timeless, is because we can all relate to the journey of finding ourselves and figuring out who we are.
“And that’s something that’s really special to me, and special to everyone who has read the book and will watch the movie.”
“I think that Judy Blume and, by extension, Kelly Fremon Craig in this film, so beautifully captured the awkwardness of youth, the feeling like you’re not normal, or what is normal? You know, comparing yourself to what you’re seeing around you,” adds Rachel, 44.
“Just all those familiar feelings that we all seem to struggle with. And puberty is just such great fodder for storytelling and humour.”
Margaret’s inner turmoil as she begins her journey towards adulthood is not just confined to the physical and emotional struggles connected to puberty, however.
She has been raised in an interfaith household – her mother is Christian and her father Herb, played by Benny Safdie, is Jewish – but Margaret was brought up without an affiliation to either religion.
Instead, her parents intended for her to decide her own religious identity as she grows older.
When we meet Margaret in the film, she’s beginning to feel uncomfortable with her lack of affiliation to either faith, and decides to explore religion through a school assignment.
The film explores a decidedly mature, frank discussion of religion – akin to the contentious approach taken by Judy in her novel – which traverses themes of antisemitism, estranged families and the impact of bigotry.
“I think that it’s always important that we have discussions and also, in turn, curiosity about religion,” says Abby.
“It’s important that we question our faith and question what we believe in, but it’s also important that we stay true to what we do believe in and stay true to ourselves.
“In a time where there are so many fights and debates and people just saying, ‘Oh, you have to be this, you have to be this, you have to be this’, I think that it’s really important that we reflect inwards and know who we are and what we believe in and stay true to that.”
“Margaret’s figuring out, really, her connection with God, or really what she does believe in. And I think that it’s a really important journey that a lot of us have gone on, or will go on eventually some time in our lives. It does bring a very important topic to the table,” adds the young star.
“I hope that the movie encourages conversations around that.”
The relationship that
Margaret has with her parents is also central to the film’s narrative, as it explores how familial relationships evolve as children grow up.
Despite her dismay at being plucked from her life in New York City and relocated to a New Jersey suburb for her father’s work, Margaret makes new friends and settles well into suburban life.
Meanwhile, we see her mother, Barbara, try to acclimatise to life outside the city, while helping her daughter along her own journey. “It was a privilege to work with Abby and to get to play the mother of Margaret – you know, she’s such an iconic character for a reason,” says Rachel. “She’s such a beautiful, honest soul, struggling with things we can all understand. I think Barb’s a good mum. I think she has some shadows that she’s dealing with.
“She’s going through some extremes, you know, when she just like, is a painter and then suddenly locks it all in the closet and is just going to be a mum. I think she’s really kind of out of balance.
“But it’s all in an effort to be the best she can for her family, at the cost of herself sometimes, so that’s the journey she’s on.
“I love how well intentioned she is, and I feel like she strikes a nice balance of being there for Margaret but also letting Margaret figure things out for herself and understanding ‘I have been where you are, but I also am not going to preach to you, because you’re going to have your own experience as well, this is going to be so personal. But I’m here, if you need me’.
“I just liked the spirit of that.”
AS JUDY BLUME’S BELOVED NOVEL – ARE YOU THERE GOD? IT’S ME, MARGARET – MAKES ITS WAY TO THE BIG SCREEN, RACHAEL DAVIS FINDS OUT MORE FROM STARS RACHEL McADAMS AND ABBY RYDER FORTSON
I think that it’s always important that we have discussions and also, in turn, curiosity about religion
Teenage star Abby Ryder Fortson