The Diary of a Teenage Girl

Name: The Diary of a Teenage Girl
Genre: Drama, Romance
Released: August 7, 2015
Duration: 102 min
Rating: 87
Cast: Alexander Skarsgård, Bel Powley, Christopher Meloni, Kristen Wiig, Madeleine Waters

2015

METASCORE

Universal acclaim based on 35 Critic Reviews

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USER SCORE

Generally favorable reviews based on 125 Ratings

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6.5

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6.5	Your Score
6.5	User Score Generally favorable reviews based on 125 Ratings

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The Diary Of A Teenage Girl

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Movie Details & Credits

Sony Pictures Classics | Release Date: August 7, 2015 | R

Starring: Alexander Skarsgård, Bel Powley, Christopher Meloni, Kristen Wiig, Madeleine Waters, Margarita Levieva

Summary: Like most teenage girls, Minnie Goetze (Bel Powley) is longing for love, acceptance and a sense of purpose in the world. Minnie begins a complex love affair with her mother's (Kristen Wiig) boyfriend, "the handsomest man in the world," Monroe Rutherford (Alexander Skarsgård). What follows is a sharp, funny and provocative account of oneLike most teenage girls, Minnie Goetze (Bel Powley) is longing for love, acceptance and a sense of purpose in the world. Minnie begins a complex love affair with her mother's (Kristen Wiig) boyfriend, "the handsomest man in the world," Monroe Rutherford (Alexander Skarsgård). What follows is a sharp, funny and provocative account of one girl's sexual and artistic awakening, without judgment. [Sony Pictures Classics]… Expand

Director: Marielle Heller

Genre(s): Drama, Romance

Rating: R

Runtime: 102 min

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Metascore

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Critic Reviews

100

Todd McCarthy

Jan 25, 2015

A remarkably vibrant and frank look at one precocious teen’s emerging sexual life — a film with the stuff of life coursing through its veins and sex very much on its brain. Read full review

100

Rebecca Keegan

Aug 6, 2015

A rare gem of a movie. Read full review

100

Ty Burr

Aug 20, 2015

The heroine’s voice-overs, delivered into the microphone of a Bell & Howell tape recorder in Minnie’s bedroom, are the movie’s motor. They’re proud and insecure, profanely comic, dripping with adolescent wisdom and self-absorption. Read full review

Nathalie Atkinson

Aug 17, 2015

That it’s unsettling not just because of the contentious moral context underlines just how radical any realistic depictions of female desire and sexual experience still are. Read full review

Jeff Baker

Aug 20, 2015

What it doesn't do -- and this is what makes this "Diary" different -- is let what happens define her or ruin her. Read full review

The Telegraph Helen O'Hara

Aug 6, 2015

Young women have desires too, and the unsinkable, uninhibited Minnie finds that a little self-belief can make up for a lot of bad decisions. Read full review

Peter Rainer

Aug 7, 2015

It’s not that this material is, or should be, off limits in a movie. But The Diary of a Teenage Girl isn’t exactly “Lolita.” Heller must think that taking a moral stance is tantamount to selling out. Commercially, she may be right. In every other respect, she’s wrong. Read full review

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User Reviews

BettySpinks

Aug 25, 2015

Love this film. I highly recommend it. Beautifully written, filmed and acted. Very human and often very funny. Lots of LOLs from me and everyone around us. If you consider yourself prude, don't go see it. If you judge people--in real life and/or in fiction--don't go see it. It's that simple.Love this film. I highly recommend it. Beautifully written, filmed and acted. Very human and often very funny. Lots of LOLs from me and everyone around us. If you consider yourself prude, don't go see it. If you judge people--in real life and/or in fiction--don't go see it. It's that simple.

The film is not transcendent or even that deep. But the subject matter is dark, and I think the creators hit the perfect tone. There is absolutely nothing cynical about this film.

Told from the girl's point of view, it's simply the true story of a lonely 15-year-old girl who loves to draw and LOVES to have a lot of consensual sex with her mother's pathetic 35-year-old boyfriend. Will she change? I already told you this isn't a cynical film.

I understand it'll be impossible for many people to separate the (illegal) deed from the brilliantly told story, so I'll address this review to people who are on the fence (because open-minded people will see it and judgmental people won't):

If you think you'd like to see this film, but you're not sure? Go see it.

Don't be scared away. Yes, the material is a little uncomfortable at first--and I'm a dirty freak (whoa, where'd that come from?)--but take a couple of breaths like I did, and remember that this is a true story. Enjoy the honesty. Enjoy the non-judgment. Enjoy some empathy. There's so much cynicism on tv and on the internet. You deserve a break. Go see this movie and show yourself some love.… Expand

10 of 12 users found this helpful102

katezoe

Jan 24, 2016

One of the top ten films of 2015. Amazing and tender story of a teenage girl coming to terms with her sexualtiy. Pitch perfect acting by the three main characters. Loved the direction. The late 60's in San Francisco caputured perfectly.

3 of 4 users found this helpful31

EpicLadySponge

Apr 1, 2016

Except for the overused sex scenes in this movie (which is the majority of this movie), the Diary of a Teenage Girl will share a diary for only once and it'll never be read again.

2 of 2 users found this helpful20

TheDavo

Aug 29, 2015

The critical reviews are well above the actual merit of this film. It's a decent film but not an 87. Maybe a 60 + / -.

The initial scenes leading to the sex are ridiculously bad. Whoever wrote them did a terrible job. No 15 or 16 year old girl would talk or act that way. Those scenesThe critical reviews are well above the actual merit of this film. It's a decent film but not an 87. Maybe a 60 + / -.

The initial scenes leading to the sex are ridiculously bad. Whoever wrote them did a terrible job. No 15 or 16 year old girl would talk or act that way. Those scenes are just preposterous and certainly affected my view off the rest of the film. The scenes where the mother found out and reacted were also preposterous and badly written. Again, no adult woman cuckolded like this would react in those ways.

An interesting story in spite of the key scenes that made no sense. The actress in the lead role did a good job and was believable and likable much of the time. The 2 adult leads were pretty lightweight and their parts were quite undeveloped and 2 dimensional.

Might be worth a trip to the cheap cineplex but not as a first run movie. And don't go for Kristen Wiig. She sleep walked her way through this one.… Expand

3 of 4 users found this helpful31

JoeCool

May 9, 2020

A fifteen year old girl discovers her sexuality, mostly with a man over twice her age and it's pretty graphic with quite a lot of nudity. Well, with that out of the way, it is about a teenage girl becoming a woman so you shouldn't watch this at all if you have a problem with seeing nakedA fifteen year old girl discovers her sexuality, mostly with a man over twice her age and it's pretty graphic with quite a lot of nudity. Well, with that out of the way, it is about a teenage girl becoming a woman so you shouldn't watch this at all if you have a problem with seeing naked people. San Francisco in the seventies is the stage for the sexual adventures of Minnie, her mother and boyfriend that ultimately lead nowhere really. The story doesn't really deliver, it just happens and ends up feeling rather meh.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

smiyamot

Jan 23, 2016

The movie making was different, artistic, innovative, but the story line was not. Seemed repetitive and stereotypical of the 60's culture in San Francisco. One 15 year olds life immersed in those times. So what? Do we get any inkling of whether this was a good or bad way to grow up? ItThe movie making was different, artistic, innovative, but the story line was not. Seemed repetitive and stereotypical of the 60's culture in San Francisco. One 15 year olds life immersed in those times. So what? Do we get any inkling of whether this was a good or bad way to grow up? It was just a diary of what happened, no conclusion or analysis. This was based on a book so I'm assuming it followed that story line, but not every book should be made into a movie.… Expand

0 of 1 users found this helpful01

THE_COCONUT_MAN

Feb 10, 2016

I found the graphic and repeated portrayal of under age sex disturbing. Story-wise, without spoiling anything, you have a very serious situation that is boiling over the entire movie which ends up essentially getting laughed off in the closing minutes, with no consequence, nothing learned,I found the graphic and repeated portrayal of under age sex disturbing. Story-wise, without spoiling anything, you have a very serious situation that is boiling over the entire movie which ends up essentially getting laughed off in the closing minutes, with no consequence, nothing learned, nothing lost... All in all terrible, disgusting trash.… Expand

0 of 4 users found this helpful04

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21	#21 Best Movie of 2015
81	#81 Most Shared Movie of 2015