MOVIES
66 AUGUST 2019 http://www.soldiermagazine.co.ukVERDICT:
Forgettable
mash-up
of A Star is
Born, Pitch
Perfect and
Flashdance
★★ ★ ★★REVIEW: BECKY CLARK, SOLDIERNot being a fan of the
talent contest genre, or teen movies
in general, I expected to hate this
directorial debut by Max Minghella
(son of the late Oscar winner Anthony
Minghella and best known for playing
Nick in The Handmaid’s Tale).
But while, by and large, Teen Spirit
is as underwhelming as the premise
suggests, Fanning’s performance
stands out.
She blasts through a series of catchy
tunes so melodiously that I assumed
she couldn’t possibly be doing the
vocals herself.
So when the end credits rolled I was
genuinely impressed to discover it was
all her.
Her voice has echoes of Scandi
songstresses Sigrid, Mø and Robyn,
whose tracks all feature on the pretty
decent soundtrack, along with Orbital,
Grimes and Ellie Goulding.
At 21 years old, and with 18 years in
the acting business and some 45 films
already under her belt, Fanning’s outputis prodigious – if not quite A-list – but
it seems she would be just as at home
behind the mic.
The camera lingers on her as she
dances in her bedroom and gradually
finds her stage persona, giving the
movie the feel of an extended music
video – with a hint of perfume advert
thrown in.
But ultimately, this film has little
to say. The pitfalls of the talent show
machine and greedy industry execs are
hinted at but not fully explored.
There is a sense of waiting for
something more to happen and that
moment never coming.
In the end, Fanning’s singing talents- and flawless English accent, by
the way – aren’t enough to save this
unexceptional offering.
Check out the electro-pop heavy
soundtrack on Spotify if you’re curious,
but otherwise my recommendation
would be to give this one a miss. ■
●Teen Spirit
is out now in
cinemas65-70-sol-aug reviews.indd 2 25/07/2019 18:34