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Reviews
Stargirl (2020)
A Movie About Redemption
Stargirl is not perfect; some scenes are perfect, and they are the ones with Grace in centerscreen or with Graham. But there were some where her novice acting ability was apparent. Those are few and far between. For those scenes I fault the director - I wish Ms. Hart would have used a different take on those occasions.
I'm glad the movie doesn't follow the book exactly. The book was much darker, nastier, and meaner than the movie. I did miss the pebble wagon though. I thought that was an integral part of Stargirl's thought process and how she lived her life. The essence of the story remains, however.
I don't understand some of the negative reviews; although the supporting characters are necessary and provide much-needed distraction, I don't feel it necessary to give them any more airtime than they got. Karan Arjun did a great job as Graham's antagonist and comes off as the better actor; that's likely due to more experience in front of the camera. The 2000 vs. 2020 comparison is sort of meaningless if you understand the true theme of the movie.
Which, in my opinion, is redemption. Without giving too much of the plot away, the penultimate scene at the Winter Ball was subtle yet historic. I can't recall any other film that expresses the love of one person for another as what Stargirl does for Leo. This was not in the book; Ms. Hart did take some liberty here but it's well worth the difference.