The Diary of a Teenage Girl

The Diary of a Teenage Girl is based on the graphic novel of the same name by Phoebe Gloeckner.  The chronicle details the troubled (and troubling) life of young Minnie Goetze, a 15-year-old girl in 1976.  She and her younger sister are raised by their single, bohemian mother Charlotte in San Francisco.  Although the maternal association one has with the word “mother” might not properly convey this frequently dazed, free-spirited hippie.  Perhaps “roommate” is more apropos.  When Minnie’s mother is too busy to go out with her boyfriend Monroe one day, Charlotte spontaneously suggests he take Minnie instead.  Do you see where this is heading? If not, bless your pure heart.  What starts out as an innocent outing develops into a flirtatious exchange.  Beside the fact that he is already dating her mother, that Monroe is 35 should cause considerable shock in any mentally sound human being.

Writer/director Marielle Heller has received a lot of credit for bringing Phoebe Gloeckner’s semi-autobiographical novel to life.  There’s been plenty of praise for the indie coming-of-age story.  The cognoscenti are fond of describing its frank depiction of sexuality as an “honest” meditation on adolescence.  Some have invoked the name of J. D. Salinger.  Given the title, much of the action is presented in voice-over narration to communicate the thoughts and feelings of our title character.  Minnie likes to draw and her style references cartoonist Robert Crumb as well as his future wife Aline Kominsky.  In fact, Minnie admires her so much that Aline occasionally appears in cartoon form to impart wisdom and life lessons.  Minnie also confides in her best friend Kimmie (Madeleine Waters). All of this informs a deep portrait of a life.  She is a young woman on the precipice of burgeoning desire.  Shy and unsure, she doesn’t see herself as beautiful.  Nevertheless, she finds she attracts attention from the opposite sex, without even trying.  This gives her the confidence to assert herself.  She begins to understand how her sexuality influences people.  This coming of age informs the dramatic thrust of the story.

The plot developments are indeed disconcerting.  There’s no justification for a man of 35 and a girl of 15 to engage in this type of relationship.  Let’s be candid, we’re talking about statutory rape.  But strangely, the affair is never presented as predatory or abnormal.  Monroe is such a kind, supportive, almost uplifting presence in her life.  Minnie seems to benefit from his guidance.  She never comes across as a victim, but rather an uninhibited girl with an inquisitive mind…and body.  Their interactions aren’t erotic, but they are empowering for her.  Their connection deepens into something more than physical.  Whether this lack of judgment or comeuppance is something to applaud is certainly questionable.  As her life goes even more completely off the rails, the narrative ultimately finds a moral center within its worldview.  An LSD trip is actually responsible for her moment of clarity.  The account can be disturbing, but it’s so emotionally heartfelt that it never devolves into something exploitative.  23-year-old actress Bel Powley believably portrays young Minnie.  The gossamer nostalgia hearkens backs to tales of growing up like Summer of ’42.  I’ll give it this: the production is an artistically filmed period piece.  It recreates the sensibilities of a faction of people for a particular time and place with perfect authenticity.

09-03-15