The Exploding Girl

So this was a netflix recommendation that I sat down and watched. I find that the largest selection of movies I view nowadays depend on whether or not they are available instantly. In any event, this movie was an independent character study, for which the female lead won the award for best actress at the Tribeca Film Festival in 2009. The movie was produced with only a budget of $40,000.00 and has made over half of that to date.

The movie stars Zoe Kazan as Ivy, an epileptic college student who returns to her mother's city apartment during one summer in college. She deals with an absent boyfriend while another childhood friend crashes on their couch as his parents rented out his room for the summer without informing him.

The plot is very simple and believable. There's not a lot of action or plot arcs. It's simply about this character at this time in her life. She is written very well. She is complex, fragile, and strong at the same time. The other characters are a bit static and one dimensional, but they serve their purpose. On the other hand, the plot was very simple and there weren't any real arcs, besides the beginning and ending of a summer. It was a double edged sword; it was believable because there wasn't a plot but then it was pretty anti-climactic because there wasn't a plot.

The movie is filmed quite nicely. There were some great steady smooth shots. The cinematography was laid back and in keeping with the movie. There was a sequence on a rooftop with a flock of birds flying in close proximity in the background which was probably my favorite in the movie.

Zoe Kanan absolutely did a great job with this character. It was a perfect fit. I felt as though she was the character. Mark Rendall, who plays her childhood friend, also did a nice job. He was the quiet loyal friend and was believable. His character wasn't explained very well, but at least he was believable.

Overall, this is exactly what an independent character study should feel like. It was genuine and didn't have any over the top quirkiness. It wasn't hip just for the sake of being hip, which can become annoying in some independent movies such as this. It was subdued and didn't try to be anything other than what it was. This will definitely be for a select audience who likes these kinds of small quiet movies. I found it fairly enjoyable, it wasn't anything extremely special or memorable. It didn't have much of a purpose but just was.