Palmes D’or laureate and French autuer Laurent Cantent (The Class, Human Resources) adds depth and soulfulness to Joyce Carol Oates’ best-selling tale – a feat not achieved by Annette Haywood-Carter in her muddled 1996 adaptation. Though this is Cantent’s second English language film and rooted in the sharply observed landscape of 1950s Americana, there’s a distinct Euro sensibility to the coming-of-age account of a girl gang’s quest for empowerment. Cantent’s understanding of adolescent relationships and naturalistic ambience adds psychological nuance and an engaging sense of place.
Newcomer Katie Coseni makes for an endearingly naive narrator for the Faulkner-like voiceovers. Raven Adamson, meanwhile, is a subtly magnetic force as Legs, a young anarchist who urges her classmates to reclaim their power by committing acts of vandalism and punishing the many misogynists and abusers who dominate their world.
As the gang fall in love with each other as only adolescent girls can, they become seduced by Legs’ promises of power and freedom. Ultimately it begins to unravel as the stakes get higher. Cantent masterfully captures the actresses’ naive youth and uninhibited naturalism. The best scenes are relaxed and improvised, when the cast’s genuine chemistry can shine, and they articulately discuss their struggles and hopes, while Steve Wright’s ‘Wild, Wild Woman’ mischievously plays in the background.
The film does lag in its final act. The being-wronged-wreaking-revenge formula feels repetitive and increasingly unbelievable, as every single man the girls meet is rapidly unveiled as a predator. An over-dramatic climax and pseudo-meaningful final reminiscence are also somewhat predictable. As a tale about young women carving a place for themselves in the world, however, it’s an engaging and intelligent watch.