Bird's Eye View

Rebecca Frankel reviews American Teen

Rebecca Frankel, former Editor of FourDocs is a big fan of American Teen, screening at Birds Eye View film festival on Sat 7 Mar 6.30pm at the ICA in London and will see its opening weekend this Friday. We asked her to tell us a little bit about why she likes it so much:

“American Teen received rave reviews at Sundance last year.  As well as setting off a bidding war with distributors, Nanette Burstein was awarded the Documentary Directing Award for it.

Set in Warsaw, Indiana, the film focus on five students in their final year of high school. Each fits one of the archetypes we know from, well, high school movies. So there is the jock, nerd, cheerleader, loner and rich kid. This cliche has been used to brilliant effect in the poster – a marketing rip off of The Breakfast Club poster.

American Teen poster pays homage to The Breakfast Club

Nanette Burstein spent a year filming constantly with the kids, to make a verite style documentary that captures all of their key moments and adventures. However, some critics who have question just how authentic parts of the footage is, as the film cuts almost like it’s been scripted, especially phone conversations filmed from both ends and scenes captured with gratuitously good timing of the crew’s presence.  Others say it was all down the brilliant casting and direction.

Director Nanette Burstein on set of American Teen

Either way, American Teen is very entertaining.  It reminds us of the universal pressures of growing up, when heartache, desires and social expectations collide on a daily basis, to equally funny and tragic consequences.  I thought the loner girl was totally great, and was rooting for her al the way, but that’s probably because she was the one I identified with most.  Who were you like at school?”