I love Lily Rabe, and really wanted to like this. And it's not a "bad" movie... it's just a movie about nothing much at all. A teacher takes three kids to a weekend drama competition... things happen, nothing major, and then they go home. If there's anything unusual in this "coming of age" film, it's potentially that the person who comes of age here isn't one of the teens, but their 29 year old teacher. Yet, even her realization and "growth" is subtle and underwhelming.
Timothee Chalamet does a nice job as a gifted young thespian with emotional issues and a crush on his teacher. His "take my meds and feel numb or stop taking them and feel alive" dilemma is a subplot that we've seen before, and it's barely explored here. And while I'm thankful that the movie didn't stray into a dangerous teacher-student place (I was worried for a sec), I was disappointed in all the non-places it didn't go and could have.
In the end, we're left with a sweet little non-story about a mostly uneventful weekend field trip. There's nothing not to like, but also nothing of note happening here. Impossible to hate this little film, but also not enough there to really recommend.
Timothee Chalamet does a nice job as a gifted young thespian with emotional issues and a crush on his teacher. His "take my meds and feel numb or stop taking them and feel alive" dilemma is a subplot that we've seen before, and it's barely explored here. And while I'm thankful that the movie didn't stray into a dangerous teacher-student place (I was worried for a sec), I was disappointed in all the non-places it didn't go and could have.
In the end, we're left with a sweet little non-story about a mostly uneventful weekend field trip. There's nothing not to like, but also nothing of note happening here. Impossible to hate this little film, but also not enough there to really recommend.