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Higher education professional by day, writer and pop culture enthusiast by night. When he isn't writing for The Cinema Spot, Tristian can be found creating content for his YouTube and TikTok pages, or working on the young adult novel he has been trying to finish for the last three years.
An all-too-familiar narrative screen at Austin, Texas’s South by Southwest (SXSW) festival earlier this month.
The beauty of coming-of-age stories is their focus on firsts. Whether it’s first love, first taste of independence, or first heartbreak. When you’re young, the world seems limitless and full of possibilities. Laurel Partmet’s The Starling Girl takes a look at one young woman’s awakening to herself, her sexuality, and to the realization that the adults in her life are just as flawed and fallible as anyone else.
The Premise of the SXSW Drama Film, The Starling Girl
Jem Starling (Eliza Scanlen) is a 17-year-old girl who has grown up in a strict Christian community in Kentucky. She enjoys coming up with choreography for her church’s dance team and loves her family.
Jem’s parents (Jimmi Simpson and Wrenn Schmidt) decide that she is finally ready to start dating a young man within their community and prepare herself to become an attentive wife and mother in the near future.
Her “boyfriend” Ben (Austin Abrams) is nice enough, and the two spend time fishing together and talking about their future. Although, Jem cannot help but feel powerless and unfulfilled as important decisions about her life are being forced upon her.
She is looking for a way to push back and buck the traditions of her society and finds herself drawn to Ben’s older brother, Owen (Lewis Pullman). He is a hip, young youth pastor who has recently returned from a mission trip and has begun introducing some wild and crazy ideas into how he ministers to young people. His unorthodox methods, and rebellious spirits, draws Jem to him. She knows he is married with children, but she convinces herself that a higher power wants them together. What follows is an affair that will rip both of their worlds apart, but serve as the first step in Jem’s journey to claiming her independence.
Performances
Eliza Scanlen absolutely floored me with her acting in The Starling Girl. I had never seen this actress in anything before, but she is extremely talented. She brings so much heart, empathy, and naivete to her portrayal of Jem Starling. Jem is a child and does not realize that she is in over her head when she begins an affair with Owen. She is a young woman who truly believes it is her destiny to be with him.
A huge part of this SXSW film deals with her realizing that the adults around her are imperfect and not nearly as faultless as she has built them up to be in her head. Although the affair is messy, she discovers it serves the purpose of making her realize that what she truly desires and craves is independence.
Austin Abrams (Paper Towns, The Walking Dead, Euphoria, Do Revenge) is amazing as always. Although the movie does not utilize him to his full potential, he serves as a reminder that Jem could stay within her community and live the life that is expected of her. Ben would be good to her, however, she would have to continue to live a repressed and rigid life.
Lewis Pullman does an excellent job portraying the rebellious youth pastor, Owen. He feels just as trapped and unhappy in his life as Jem does. He views his affair with Jem as a chance to reclaim his lost youth, and like most men who engage with younger women, he takes advantage of the fact that she’s impressionable.
Final Thoughts on The Starling Girl
Partmet’s screenplay for The Starling Girl is tightly written and expertly paced as we move through Jem’s life and her community. Whether we are watching Jem at a church social or hiding out in the bathroom of Owen’s house praying that his wife does not find her, every scene furthers the story, and nothing goes to waste. In a day and age in which many films drag on too long and are overstuffed, it is astounding to watch a writer-director utilize every aspect of the story to further the development of the characters and the world.
The Starling Girl is a well-written, well-paced, well-acted coming-of-age film at SXSW that explores the dark side of firsts for young adults. It is a must-see for adults and young adults alike.
Higher education professional by day, writer and pop culture enthusiast by night. When he isn't writing for The Cinema Spot, Tristian can be found creating content for his YouTube and TikTok pages, or working on the young adult novel he has been trying to finish for the last three years.
This article was edited by John Tangalin.