Silly Girl

It's not clear quite what happened in the cafeteria, but it's clear that it was shocking. Everyone is talking about it. This much is obvious, in that way that things in school are obvious, even though we only meet three people. But sometimes scandalous things impress girls. Here, a confession is prompted: a declaration of liking somebody which, pared down and studiously casual as it is, verges on the scandalous in itself. Not because it's a lesbian crush but because it's, you know, liking someone, and these kids are only just past the age where that's inherently disgusting.

In this uncertain territory, there is another confounding factor. The object of the crush has to be prompted to understand what's going on. She hasn't really thought of herself as a girl before. Perhaps she never will, but does it matter? Her male friend tries to persuade her not to turn her back on a good thing. With adults, these might be complex and ponderous conversations; here communication takes place in terse statements, alternately elusive and dogmatic. It turns out that impressing girls might be even easier than the cafeteria incident suggested.

A charming snapshot of teenage life, Silly Girl takes spots and grime and vomit and turns them into a new romantic language. Although the dialogue is stylised the film feels fresh and real, and it doesn't outstay its welcome. It's messy and funny and ugly and sweet.