Hailee Steinfeld, I owe you an apology. I was not familiar with your game. You see, every weekend, my wife and I sit down to watch a few movies together. These movies can range from black-and-white classics from the Criterion Collection to ‘90s rom-coms, to 80s thrillers or modern-day indies. We usually don’t have a lot of disagreements on the movies we watch, as our tastes and sensibilities are, more or less, quite similar. It’s also more of a way to spend time together than anything else. However, sometimes, one of us isn’t exactly too keen on the selected film. Such was the case for me for the past couple of weekends, when my wife was very much wanting to watch the 2016 coming-of-age teen drama, Edge of Seventeen. 

You see, I’m a 31-year-old man from Bangladesh. I’m rarely, if ever, in the mood for a story about an angsty white teenage girl from the suburbs of America. But, she’s my wife, and I love her, so out of love, I finally acquiesced. An hour and forty-four minutes later, I will happily admit that I was wrong to have judged this movie, as I had a great time with it. Mostly because of Hailee Steinfeld’s incredible performance. 

Steinfeld brought a layered ferocity to this role and showcased her character, Nadine, with an unabashed honesty that was captivating to watch. She played the wit and sarcasm of this awkward girl to a T, but the truly impressive part was her willingness to delve into her character’s frustrating flaws, capturing those moments of folly with a raw and messy vulnerability. It’s a performance that one wouldn’t necessarily expect from such a young actor. But this young woman did get nominated for an Oscar at ten years old, so I guess it shouldn’t be that surprising. Although she did not get nominated for her performance in this, which is yet another decision by The Academy deserving of a sigh and a disappointed head shake.  

In fairness, Hailee Steinfeld’s performance carries Edge of Seventeen to a greater height than the film itself is capable of. Not to say that the movie isn’t good or doesn’t have merit, but its plot beats and overall execution were much safer than Steinfeld’s performance. It’s a tightly edited, vibrantly shot, and sharply written film; however, some of the supporting cast, particularly Nadine’s best friend Krista (Haley Lu Richardson), get quickly left by the wayside and don’t affect the story or Nadine and her character arc in a more active capacity as I would have hoped.

Still, Edge of Seventeen is reminiscent of some of the best and most memorable teen dramas of the ’80s and ’90s. A movie that, no doubt, many of today’s generation will find comfort in and will mark as an essential part of their growing up.  

Be sure to check out our TikTok page for the video version of this series!