The Fix From Fix

May 2021 The Coming of Age Fix From Fix

A review of some of the finest, and most diverse coming of age films from across the years.

— McCartney Fix, Co-News Editor

“The Graduate”

Dir. Mike Nicols

Photo sourced from Alternate Movie Posters

A gorgeous alterante poster depicting the loss of innocence that acts as the Graduates central theme.

The sense of unease that comes with growing old may be the most commonly addressed themes in coming of age cinem. However it lacks complexity often due to the caveat that by the films conclusion, the major questions of the day will be answered, and certainty will be found. With its now iconic final frame, Mike Nichols’ “The Graduate” dispels that notion. Benjamin finds no refuge in his love and no solidarity in a life sure to be spent with a woman he has convinced himself he loves. There is no refuge in Elaine, only an evermore unanswerable set of questions now posed to this young, uncertain and utterly directionless boy. The answers of which sit plainly in his expression. Like a summer field giving way to the barren husk of a winter oak, individual frames show a stark contrast in expressions, but played out over a single shot the realization settles in at a poignant pace. These final few seconds are as iconic as anything ever put to film, but it certainly helps that they are preceded by a truly immaculate viewing experience. “The Graduate” is at once of its time, and timeless, forever communicating the wistful weightlessness and lack of direction early 20-somethings are bound to feel. Dustin Hoffman plays this very clearly out of his depth young man transitioning into a point in his life he can not feasibly convince himself he is prepared for. His every action, like a bag in the wind, feels less motivated and more propelled. He clearly has so little impact on the daily rat race he runs. To his credit, Nicols makes quite clear that Ben is all the better for his lack of true input, because whenever he swings for the fences and attempts to make a righteous stand, he fails or succeeds and seems all the more miserable for it. Anne Bancroft plays Mrs. Robinson so incredibly well, imbuing her with a mature, yet slightly predatory sexuality that oozes from her character. All this is tied together with one of the strongest soundtracks ever composed for a film, Simon and Garfunkel anchor the incredibly folkish soundtrack with a whimsy that fits the film as a whole. Some may say they do not make films like this anymore, but I would argue they never made them like this before. “The Graduate” is as singular as it is sensational, and as truly seductive to audiences as the pulled up pantyhose of Mrs. Robinson herself.

“The Edge of “Lady Bird” Seventeen”

Dir. Greta Gerwig

Photo sourced from Pintrest A minimalistic silhouetted poster A beautifully slight poster portraying the title role, Lady Bird. highlighting the classic low tops.

In her debut effort, Greta Gerwig provides an exceptionally resonant portrayal of both the millennial aging experience and the growing pains many older Americans experienced at the turn of the millennium. There is such a clear desperation to grow old expressed through the character of Lady Bird that contrasts so perfectly with the aged experience of the adult characters in the film, particularly her father. He understands the consequences of wishing for a change you may not be fully prepared for while Bird believes that leap into the unknown is wholly necessary. This dynamic is best portrayed through a brilliant sequence in which the young bird eagerly celebrates a waitlist from a university in New York City. A sign of fresh and new experiences, while her father must contend with the youth of a changing job market that he has struggled to keep up with. In the end they both get what they want. Bird is admitted to the university much to the chagrin of her mother, portrayed brilliantly by Laurie Metcalf, while Larry loses out on the job to his son. There is no resentment from the later, quite to the contrary, he feels both pride in his child and resigned to his fate as a dinosaur in a world that has evolved far too fast to not eventually pass him by, only hoping that he raised his kids with enough of a head start to allow them an adjustment period before they, in a sense, become exactly what he is. And in the end, is that not both the great fear of the child and the parent, that they become nothing more than those who raised them. Dir. Kelly Craig

Photo sourced from Pinterest

The Edge of Seventeen is the exact sort of movie its poster clues you into believing it is. The story of a dejected, depressed teen girl who is at once entirely over it all and held desperately captive to societal pressures. All of that is evident in the body language of Hailee Seinfield on the poster, she’s just totally not here for any of what’s happening, and that’s delightful. The film easily could have fallen victim to a cruel, mocking tone that makes light of the dreary subject matter, but it thankfully avoids such a pit fall by taking a comedic, though never cynical tone in how it addresses the angst and anxiety of high school life. Seinfeld is never the subject of the directors mockery, instead she is at the whim of the casual cruelty of her classmates, and that allows us to feel for her plenty, no emotional browbeating required. As a whole, the film never feels manipulative, tender moments are earned and never taken for granted, and its comedic elements are tightly intertwined into a screenplay chock full of intelligent, empathetic dialogue. Like the characters it fills its run time with, the film never feels as if it is too cool for anything; if there is a funny, yet unquestionably lame joke to be made, it is made, without so much as a suggestive wink of irony. Craig is the rare directorial talent who legitimately “gets” what being a teenager, hormones an all. It is not awful. It is not a picture book perfect either, its reality, and if you squint your eyes hard enough, there is plenty of beauty to be found in it.