Films such as The Florida Project, Call Me by Your Name and now Eighth Grade all do something special with the over-saturated genre of “Coming of Age”. They all have a main protagonist and those they associate with and tell their story in a small, confined universe and focus on character before anything else. All of these films are focussed on telling a story about how different situations and feelings affect our main character and having the audience react to how they handle those situations. When the character acts a certain way on screen it tells us where they are at mentally. Whether they are anxious, attracted or rejoicing those are they ways that we as an audience are brought into the characters shows and are able to enter the life of said person. Eighth Grade is one of these films looking into the adolescence of an individual and some of the most important years of a child’s development, where you make new connections, find your life’s passions and discover maturity.
The film I want to focus on at the moment is stand-up comedian and performer Bo Burnam’s directorial debut Eighth Grade. It made its first splash at the festival scene and continued the filmography of distribution company A24. Eighth Grade is a slice of life taken over the course of our main character Kayla’s last week in middle school. We see her going through her final few days, structured by her YouTube lifestyle/advice channel mirroring her feelings at school.
Her videos go through many different topics including Anxiety, confidence and coming out of your shell. However are all things she is struggling with and failing to accomplish for herself. She is shown to be incredibly introverted, winning her schools award for “Quietest Student” and her body language in social situations. A scene that truly shows her characters state of mind is when she is invited to a pool party at the house of the “popular girl”. The way the score builds as she gets farther invested in the party allows the viewer to experience how she is thinking so fast about all of the potential situations she could either make a fool of herself or attempt to integrate with some of the party goers.
As the film goes on, we see how she progresses through her anxiety in different manners. She will lash out at her father claiming she’s fine or is in no need of help. She will find courage to talk with boys but will be forced into awkward or scary situations without the knowledge of how to handle them. She allows her emotions to tell her what to do at times, however has the film progresses and we are able to see her character grow she is able to control her emotions and make the right decisions.
By the third act of the films we see how Kayla has improved her overall confidence. By talking with people and making friends and having the courage to stand up for herself. Kayla also finds the patience to listen to her father and hear his advice giving her a better outlook on how her father acts. By the time the film concludes we have seen how an introverted eighth grader turns her person around and exits the year with the confidence needed to pursue her future in high school.
Bo Burnam has created a marvellous conversation about youth, emotional insecurity and confidence and wrapped it all up in the character of Kayla. A wonderful character study for the new generation and I can’t wait to see what Burnam has in store next.
The FilmSpot 