GIRLS TOWN
A film review by James Berardinelli
Copyright 1996 James Berardinelli
RATING (0 TO 10): 7.5 Alternative Scale: *** out of ****
United States, 1996 U.S. Release Date: beginning 8/21/96 (limited) Running Length: 1:30 MPAA Classification: R (Profanity, mature themes) Theatrical Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
Cast: Lili Taylor, Bruklin Harris, Anna Grace, Aunjanue Ellis,
Asia Minor
Director: Jim McKay
Producer: Lauren Zalaznick
Screenplay: Denise Casano, Jim McKay, Anna Grace, Bruklin Harris, and
Lili Taylor
Cinematography: Russell Lee Fine
U.S. Distributor: October Films
It's a legitimate question to ask why, in the realm of the female coming-of-age story, there are far more FOXFIREs than GIRLS TOWNs. Sadly, it doesn't take someone with a great deal of insight into American culture to figure out the answer. FOXFIRE is crisply filmed, features three pairs of naked breasts, and has a storyline that often strays into the realm of the preposterous. GIRLS TOWN, on the other hand, is a gritty, somewhat grainy, look at the realities of growing up in America. There's nothing glamorous about the picture painted by Jim McKay's film -- it has the ring of truth, and that's something mass audiences seem progressively less interested in.
The urban high school featured in GIRLS TOWN fits somewhere in between that of CLUELESS (where girls obsess about credit cards, makeup, and boys) and that of DANGEROUS MINDS (where girls worry about being gunned down). In short, it depicts a setting that is refreshingly devoid of Hollywood conventions and cliches. No one in this film gets shot or stabbed. No one ODs on drugs (except one girl who commits suicide by swallowing a bottle of sleeping pills). The violence, which is mostly off-screen, tends to be more psychological than physical.
McKay's GIRLS TOWN proves that a film about three teenage girls doesn't have to be exploitative and melodramatic to be dramatically viable. The movie pulls us in simply because the characters are interesting, and are worth spending ninety minutes with. We regard them as human beings, not a writer's invention, and this illusion of reality is amplified by street-wise dialogue and unforced performances. GIRLS TOWN also has the right look for this type of feature -- the print is slightly grainy and the photographic style is very basic (no oddly- angled shots or rapid-fire edits).
As GIRLS TOWN opens, we're introduced to four best friends: Patti (Lili Taylor), a "juvenile delinquent" with a baby and an attitude; Angela (Bruklin Harris), a would-be poet and writer; Emma (Anna Grace), a "good" student bound for Columbia in the fall; and Nikki (Aunjanue Ellis), an even better student headed to Princeton. With their High School senior year drawing to a close, the girls are thinking about the future, and Nikki doesn't like what she sees. So, one evening, she downs a bottle of sleeping pills and leaves her friends behind feeling betrayed and wondering why she did it.
As a result of Nikki's death, Patti, Angela, and Emma question things they formerly took for granted. They start to fight back against life's injustices rather than playing the victim. Emma avenges a date rape by vandalizing the car of the boy who attacked her. Patti chooses an unorthodox method of getting support money from her baby's father. And Angela confronts her mother about taking charge of her own life. GIRLS TOWN is about female empowerment, but it presents its case without rhetoric.
The script for this film wasn't just written, it was developed as part of an improvisational workshop attended by the director and actors (the three female leads are given co-screenwriting credit). This is the kind of picture where such improvisation works well. There's a lot of dialogue, and the actors' contributions make it clear that they understand their characters. One scene in particular stands out -- early in the film, after Nikki's death, the friends gather to grieve and try to understand. They don't have any answers, but a lot of pain and frustration emerges. It's not the most comfortable sequence to watch, but it's very believable.
Although a few of the supporting players are a little stiff, each member of the lead trio gives a fine performance. While the characters have numerous surface differences -- intelligence, skin color, and temperament -- they are fundamentally alike. They use false bravado and trash-talking to cover an inherent vulnerability that comes from uncertainty about themselves and the future. From our fly-on-the-wall viewpoint, we see the girls not only as their schoolmates see them, but as they see each other and themselves.
GIRLS TOWN does an excellent job of uncovering the angst, pressure, and doubt associated with the late teenage years. Its a refreshing film, not only because it shines the spotlight exclusively on girls (all the male characters are incidental) but because it does so without a whiff of exploitation. At one point, Patti remarks, "This ain't no 90210," which is thankfully true. Instead, GIRLS TOWN is as stark and unfeigned as anything that doesn't bear the "documentary" label.
- James Berardinelli e-mail: berardin@bc.cybernex.net ReelViews web site: http://www.cybernex.net/~berardin
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