![]() Like Staten Island, Babyteeth has a careless structure where it goes at its own pace when it should just stick to its strongest areas. Although it has the option to tackle mature themes head-on and stray away from tropes of its genre, it instead bogs itself down by being cliched and having numerous subplots that go completely unresolved, leading to an unsatisfying dead end once the movie realized it was approaching its 2-hour running time. So many of my issues of the most recent Judd Apatow comedy, The King of Staten Island, are present here. The moment I uttered, “I’m glad this isn’t formulaic,” under my breath as I became invested in the various unconventional story elements, the movie side-eyed me and responded, “Formulaic? You want formulaic? OKAY, HERE’S FORMULAIC!” and floored the vehicle straight into a wall of cliches, disregarding much of its enticing aspects.Īside from the age disparity, one of my major issues with Babyteeth is that it’s uneven with the type of story it wants to tell when it had clearly been on a great path. Despite Milla’s mundane, depressing reality, Moses helps her come alive and stays by her side. Even prior to their romance blossoming, the two felt real. ![]() Their dialogue and the way they communicate attests to the different perspectives on life before they crossed paths. I admire the unconventional routes this movie took with its storytelling. You immediately understand Milla’s fascination and infatuation with him. From the film’s cold open you have Milla, who is crushed by the fear that her days on this Earth are numbered, who happens to meet her polar opposite, a punk-ish rebellious rulebreaker who couldn’t care less about life or death, for he just lives each day as if it was his last. There is much to appreciate about the romance between Milla and Moses. Even when Milla brings Moses into the picture, they start inflicting their nasty habits onto him by bribing him with drugs to sell so he could steer clear of their daughter, who they overprotect. ![]() Anna is a drug addict who gets high by popping pills and her husband, Henry, although a psychiatrist, is a complete pushover who enables her by prescribing a shit ton of pills while eyeing his younger pregnant neighbor. The story follows each individual and displays how they cope in their own ways, which sometimes leads to toxic behavior, but it’s always earnest and holds a warm sense of realism.įrom the get-go, it's clear that the parents' marriage is falling apart and it’s fascinating to see how doomed it is where they have lost control of each other and, most importantly, themselves. The dynamic within this middle-class Australian family is completely out of whack due to Milla’s condition. Heck, I found Milla’s parents, Henry and Anna, to be fascinating and complex characters - more so than Milla herself. ![]() The film works best when it’s set within the family circle. Milla’s illness doesn’t just affect her - it affects her parents, too. While many of these movies are centered solely on the terminally ill teen, rarely do they explore life outside of them. Babyteeth presents itself as mature and nuanced in various areas. The only film that felt unconventional was Me, Earl, and the Dying Girl. Many dramas of the last decade, especially those based on popular YA novels, followed the terminally ill character who found romance - ranging from The Fault in Our Stars to Everything, Everything. Eliza Scanlen is going to be a huge deal and this film is a stepping stone. She sends an ample amount of chills down my spine, especially when she becomes so frustrated with the world around her. She really gets to showcase her range with this character. While the entire cast does a great job - notably the parents played by Essie Davis and Ben Mendelsohn (who is rather dashing with a stache) - Eliza Scanlen is the film’s heart and soul. We saw Scanlen portray the sweet, innocent and infamously ill Beth in Greta Gerwig’s Little Women and now she’s ill again in Shannon Murphy’s directorial debut feature, Babyteeth, a drama based on the stage play of the same name by Rita Kalnejais, that feels both mature, yet artificial at the same time.Īt its core, this is Eliza Scanlen’s movie. Man, Eliza Scanlen has found her niche playing sick girls.
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