The Edge of Seventeen

The coming-of-age movie has a long history to it - and the dysfunctional female-lead teenage comedy goes back to at least "Heathers". "Edge of Seventeen", though, is a strange kinda breakthrough, in that it feels like it's actually about a teenager in all their inward contradictions, rather than an adult who happens to still be in high school. Nadine, our protagonist, desperately wants to transcend everything that keeps her where she is - her family, her virginity, her own personal incompetence - but is trapped by the fact that she's just not ready yet, and frequently lashes out quite unpleasantly at everyone around her. The film sympathises with her without letting her off the hook for her failings - she is a wildly immature young woman, but not a monster. Her crashings and burnings through the trials of teenagehood, when nobody seems to be on her side, is awkward, hilarious and touching.