X
- 2023
- R
- Bleecker Street Media
- 1 h 57 m
- 2023
- R
- Bleecker Street Media
- 1 h 57 m
Summary Seventeen-year-old Jem Starling (Eliza Scanlen) struggles to define her place within her fundamentalist Christian community in rural Kentucky. Even her greatest joy of dancing with the church group is tempered by worry that her actions are sinful and she is caught between a burgeoning awareness of her own sexuality and her religious devo...
Directed By: Laurel Parmet
Written By: Laurel Parmet
- 2023
- R
- Bleecker Street Media
- 1 h 57 m
- 2023
- R
- Bleecker Street Media
- 1 h 57 m
The Starling Girl
78
6.8
Where to Watch
Summary Seventeen-year-old Jem Starling (Eliza Scanlen) struggles to define her place within her fundamentalist Christian community in rural Kentucky. Even her greatest joy of dancing with the church group is tempered by worry that her actions are sinful and she is caught between a burgeoning awareness of her own sexuality and her religious devo...
Directed By: Laurel Parmet
Written By: Laurel Parmet
Where to Watch
Top Cast
Metascore
Generally Favorable
Based on 20 Critic Reviews
78
90% Positive
18 Reviews
18 Reviews
10% Mixed
2 Reviews
2 Reviews
0% Negative
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
Metascore
Generally Favorable
Based on 20 Critic Reviews
78
90% Positive
18 Reviews
18 Reviews
10% Mixed
2 Reviews
2 Reviews
0% Negative
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
This is a movie that barely speaks above a whisper, even when its characters are howling in pain inside.
The Starling Girl is so effective because it feels so specific to the character Parmet creates but remains accessible to people who haven’t shared her experience. The film is rich in detail, both in the sense of what it’s like growing up in a very religious community and what teenage rebellion looks like when just acting like an individual is enough to earn a stern talking to from an elder.
User Score
Generally Favorable
Based on 14 User Ratings
6.8
64% Positive
9 Ratings
9 Ratings
29% Mixed
4 Ratings
4 Ratings
7% Negative
1 Rating
1 Rating
User Score
Generally Favorable
Based on 14 User Ratings
6.8
64% Positive
9 Ratings
9 Ratings
29% Mixed
4 Ratings
4 Ratings
7% Negative
1 Rating
1 Rating
Um retrato meio perturbador sobre a influência do pensamento religioso fundamentalista, com uma família robótica podando o desenvolvimento de uma garota,que acaba por se envolver com o pastor. Por mais que tenha momentos realmente tocantes e revoltosos (a fala do pai do pastor pondo a culpa na vítima é de revirar o estômago), o roteiro parece optar pela burocracia, e tudo vai passando de forma letárgica. A cena da garota dançando ao final ficou linda demais, mostrando espaços de liberdade onde menos se vê.
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What’s required to attain acceptance from others? That’s a tricky question, especially for those who are going through the coming of age process. It can be even more confounding for those who are part of a community that demands rigid conformity on an array of fronts. So it is for 17-year-old Jem Starling (Eliza Scanlen), a questioning young woman from a small Kentucky fundamentalist community. She wants to fit in, but she also endeavors to know herself, a quest that carries with it some puzzling yet innate contradictions, many of which are brought front and center when she begins to develop feelings for her married youth pastor (Lewis Pullman), a connection based on emotions that turn out to be mutual. But what is Jem to do – follow her heart or squelch the burgeoning passions surfacing within her, both romantically and in her other secular interests? That’s the story that plays out as she attempts to get in touch with her inner being. However, is she seeking to let her true self emerge, or is she succumbing to the wicked manipulations of Satan, as her family and fellow parishioners try to convince her? Independent Spirit Award-nominated writer-director Laurel Parmet’s debut feature deftly handles these themes, even if they seem a little predictable, familiar and stretched out at times. The picture’s surprisingly inconsistent cinematography sometimes hampers the flow of the narrative, too, with some scenes that are beautifully shot and others that are needlessly and almost indecipherably dark (atmosphere is one thing, but the patent mishandling of this element is something else entirely). Nevertheless, these shortcomings are aptly covered by the fine performances of the film’s stellar cast, especially Scanlan, Pullman, and Jimmi Simpson and Wrenn Schmidt as Jem’s dysfunctional parents. “The Starling Girl” may not be groundbreakingly original, but it reminds us of the importance of being ourselves, no matter what that might entail – and the cost that can come from failing to follow our hearts.
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Even in the most discomforting moments, director Parmet finds a way to delicately balance morally complex issues. The Starling Girl, even with its unsettling themes about abuse, is a triumphant effort about finding love within.
This is a movie that lets us understand the foibles and dark underpinnings of a movement that seems to have transcended removing itself from “this world’s” everyday concerns to embracing the ugliest elements of its dogma — superstition, dogmatic intolerance, “control” and a disregard for any American or American institution that doesn’t fit their myopic worldview.
To her great credit (and one must also mention the production design by Mollie Wartell, and the low-key but on occasion lush cinematography by Brian Lannin), Parmet here creates an environment that feels lived-in, and portrays it without condescension. And Scanlen’s detailed work keeps the movie emotionally credible.
The Starling Girl doesn’t always hold our attention, mainly due to an occasionally shaggy pace that forgets we’re often ahead of the plot. There are also two endings: one built on a choice of Jem’s that’s incredibly stirring and naturally tense, but then a subsequent scene with music and dance that reads more like something scripted to be a meaningful bookend.
There’s not necessarily anything new in Parmet’s script, despite her care towards this character of Jem. The film lacks surprise, and in this case, is missing a level of engagement.
IN A NUTSHELL:
A 17-year-old girl struggles with her place in the world and in her Christian fundamentalist community. When a young pastor returns to her church, new challenges of faith emerge.
The film was directed and written by Laurel Parmet. She has already won the "Directors to Watch" award. The movie was also nominated for the "Grand Jury Prize" at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival and the "Audience Award" at the SXSW Film Festival.
THINGS I LIKED:
Eliza Scanlen does a fantastic job as the lead. Everyone in the cast crushed it. The cast includes Lewis Pullman, Jimmi Simpson, Wrenn Schmidt, Claire Elizabeth Green, and Ellie May.
The dialogue is sensitive and often insightful, but the quiet moments are powerful too.
The movie takes place in Kentucky. My nephew just moved there!
Beautiful cinematography by Brian Lannin.
Great camerawork and editing by Sam Levy.
Lovely musical score by Ben Schneider.
The film does a good job of painting a picture of life in a small, religious community.
THINGS I DIDN'T LIKE:
I didn't like any of the characters and couldn't relate to any of them.
What's so sinful about chewing gum? Why did the pastor make such a big deal out of that?
I've never understood a woman who could be with a married man.
Some scenes are very dark which will make it difficult to see what's happening if you watch this on a small streaming device.
Some viewers won't like the ambiguous ending.
It was interesting to watch the girls dance as a form of worship. Not very many Christian churches do that.
TIPS FOR PARENTS:
Kids will be extremely bored.
We see unmarried people have sex. It's dark, so we don't see skin, just facial expressions and hear sounds.
We hear someone throw up.
We see someone in a hospital bed.
Report
Eliza Scanlen plays a teenager whose family is a member of a fundamentalist Christian community in rural Kentucky. She enjoys dancing with the church group, but her fascination with the youth pastor (Louis Paxton) and her burgeoning sexuality causes the inevitable disastrous dramatic conflict. Since viewers can pretty much determine the outcome, it's up to writer/director Laurel Parmet to create interesting characters in compelling situations. She succeeds well enough to create an engaging small drama about faith, shame and desire.
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Production Company
2AM,
Pinky Promise,
Sons of Rigor Films
Release Date May 12, 2023
Duration 1 h 57 m
Rating R
Genres
Awards
Palm Springs International Film Festival
• 1 Win & 1 Nomination
Sundance Film Festival
• 1 Nomination
SXSW Film Festival
• 1 Nomination
