The Comfortable Uncomfortability of The Edge of Seventeen

Written by Chantel Kienitz

Graphics by Wendy Lan

I have been the girl typing “movie characters with anxiety” and “teen movies about mental health” into a search engine, desperate to find an accurate reflection of how I was feeling, and that I was not alone in my discomfort. The results were always filled with screencaps of dimly lit crying scenes and blue-grey color schemes. The synopses were stacked with lines about tragedy and isolation. Although these films mirrored my feelings, they never presented them in a multidimensional way; unhappy young women were depicted as either hopelessly lost or trivial and vain. I, like many others, turn to movies for comfort; something to distract from my life and escape into for the hour and a half runtime. Despite all this, I still prefer a main character that I can relate to. The Edge of Seventeen did for me what some people get from self-help books or counselors. It helped me see that I was not alone in how I dealt with being a teen and struggling with self-doubt and anxiety.

It’s refreshing to see someone experiencing a similar hardship as myself while still getting their happy ending. Too often I see teenage characters with real issues become victims of plot who suffer at the hands of the writer. It seems the preppy and bright teen movies lack any depth within characters, and movies about teen angst and mental health are devoid of fun or hope. I do not condemn either of these movie prototypes, I only question why the genres rarely have any overlap.

Teenagers and young adults are popularly stereotyped as one of the most ‘overly emotional’ groups of people, due to the archetype of the hormonal teen boy or high school drama queen, but everyone seems to avert their eyes to the problems this age group endures. High school and college are times of immense growth and self-reflection, while also being the period when young people are expected to make decisions about their entire future. These kids have a heavy weight to carry throughout the journey into adulthood, so the representation of this age group, in movies and in the real world, is completely justified to be overwrought with emotion However, this should not determine the despondent intensity of the dramatics throughout teen genres. Teens and young people deserve plots with real feelings and real situations. They need to see characters face problems with their family or struggle with life decisions. It is equally vital, though, to see these same characters experiencing first love and kindred friendships. Young, struggling people need to see that other young, struggling people can live happily ever after, even, maybe especially, in unconventional ways. The Edge of Seventeen meets and exceeds this ideal.  

Nadine, played by Hailee Steinfeld, is an awkward high school junior who has trouble making new friends and conversing at parties. In one particularly poignant scene, she calls her mother to pick her up after her more socially adept friend abandons her in a crowd of drunk teens. I have never related to a character more, and after speaking to my peers at the time this movie was released, I came to the realization that I was not the only person in the theater who felt deeply connected to the young brunette giving herself a stress-pep-talk in the mirror at a party. 

There are points of the movie that deal with more grave situations, such as the death of Nadine’s father or uncomfortable sexual encounters, but these moments are paired with hopeful instances of restoration. Nadine struggles with the loss of her father, but she also struggles with more rectifiable obstacles such as bad haircuts and uncomfortable first dates. She embodies a perverse and complicated main character, but I refuse to accept her shortcomings as “character flaws”. She is a seventeen-year-old girl who is working through her problems and figuring herself out, and that is not a problem. In fact, that is exactly what the genre “coming-of-age” calls for, and exactly how teenagers need to be represented.

Over the course of the movie, Nadine is continually overwhelmed by her emotions. She sends confident texts and then immediately regrets them. She eats lunch with her history teacher because she doesn’t have anywhere else to go. She struggles to connect with her family. She struggles to connect with people, in general. She makes a lot of mistakes and deals with the consequences, and yet she still gets a happy ending. This is not cheesy, and it is not unrealistic; in fact, it is what teens want and often need to see.

What sets The Edge of Seventeen apart is its popping-bright, primary colors and quick wit. Nadine has a repartee that feels refreshing from how the typical ‘edgy’ teenager is typecasted to look and act. Her sarcasm, contrasted with her outward despair, feels more authentic to a real person than a hollow caricature of someone who has gone through a breakdown. The way Nadine dresses is lightheartedly mentioned throughout the movie as one of her weak points, but her unique sneakers and blue and orange jacket become her uniform. The unexpected vitality of her wardrobe is a welcome change to what could have been an all-black ensemble that some more somber costume designers would have reverted to for this “troubled” teen.

The Edge of Seventeen writes a love letter to the misadventure of self-discovery by following in the footsteps of a classic John-Hughes high school flick with its quick-flowing comedy and ferris wheel kiss scenes. It is a story about a young girl going through tough times and clawing her way back out of them, but it still portrays a sense of lighthearted humor and family connection that is too often lacking with this genre. It is a comfort movie at its core. Other filmmakers should take note.