Sundance Review: ‘The Diary of a Teenage Girl’ Unlocks the Secrets of Adolescence

Excerpt:

It’s 1976. The infamous Patty Hearst trials are well underway. All of San Francisco seems high on a perpetual, tripped-up haze, and 15-year-old Minnie Guetze has just lost her virginity — to her mother’s boyfriend.

On paper, the premise might suggest an offbeat, meandering story. But first-time director Marielle Heller’s efficient adaptation of Phoebe Gloeckner’s graphic novel (a project developed at the 2012 Sundance Director’s Lab) maintains a focused approach. With its jolting depictions of a teenage girl’s sexual awakening, the story is initially jarring, but it ultimately develops a fascinating reliability. Read More