Burnham's Directorial Debut is Genuine, Heartfelt, and (Almost) Amazing...
Braden White
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| A24© |
Its pretty incredible to think director Bo Burnham is only twenty-seven. In just a short career he has established himself on the stand-up scene with his own distinct blend of erratic humor with music and theatrics, as well as reaching international fame with several successful comedy specials across Comedy Central and Netflix. With such a strong portfolio a feature film wasn't much of a surprise. What is a surprise is that he chose to focus his film around middle schoolers. An experienced director has a hard enough time writing dialogue for and directing little kids. However, most surprising is that in his directorial debut, Burnham crafted one of the best coming-of-age stories in recent years.
Teenager Kayla Day (Elsie Fisher) navigates her final week of middle school while attempting to transform herself from the introverted girl she has always been. In order to do so she must deal with crushes, popular girls, anxiety and an embarrassing dad (Josh Hamilton).
"Eighth Grade" doesn't have the most riveting story, nor the most interesting series of events, however what is on screen manages to be so captivating due to the film's greatest strength- it's realism. Burnham succeeds brilliantly in creating possibly the most accurate depiction of this generation yet. Everyone looks, sounds, and acts like they should, simple things which are hilariously missing in most films of this kind. Characters have visible acne, clothes that look worn-in, use "like" as a verbal crutch, are constantly on social media, and want nothing to do with their parents. Memes and current phenomenons are mentioned constantly, which is very fitting here as this is how kids actually talk. Their dialogue could so easily come across as irritating and excessively referential, however Burnham hits the perfect balance. As someone who lives with a teenager in the film's depicted demographic, it's astounding how accurate the twenty-seven year old Burnham's film proves to be.
While all the acting is superb, the highlight is the breakout performance by Elsie Fisher. There are two main problems in a poor child performance: the writing of an adult with no insight into the mind of a young character and child actors flatly reading lines in front of them. These common frustrations are missing in "Eighth Grade" thanks to Burnham's excellent dialogue and Fisher's very competent grasp of her character. There is a surprising amount of challenge in portraying a character so similar to yourself. It's clear Fisher relates to Kayla's problems as she does a fantastic job in portraying problems like social and general anxiety. She throws in many subtleties in her performance such as annoyed motions when talking to her dad, nervous pacing or uncomfortable posing in social situations. At fifteen, it's clear she is a talent to keep your eyes on.
In a surprising turn of events, Burnham's writing is fantastic yet works better as a coming of age drama rather than a comedy. There are plenty of genuinely funny moments here and their, however far and away most of the humor comes from awkward/cringe encounters, which is great if that's your cup of tea. This isn't to disregard the writing in any aspect as it is simply that the dramatic/non-comedic moments are often far superior. As perviously mentioned all characters sound act like real middle schoolers do. This allows all the conflicts and reactions to feel incredibly realistic and relatable. Many moments transcend problems of adolescence and connect universally. There is a scene in which Kayla describes having anxiety in a way that is so simple yet profound. There is a ton of heart in the writing, its clear this has been a project close to Bo's heart for a very long time now. "Eighth Grade" just feels so goddamn genuine! The tone ebbs and flows better than the vast majority of films out right now. The switch from comedy to drama is never abrupt and fits very appropriately with our main character. Bo Burnham writing shapes a film that is relatable for kids without ever sacrificing its integrity or dumbing anything down.
Its been a very long time since I've seen a film in which the quality of the the film varies so dramatically in aspects as "Eighth Grade" does between acting/script and the cinematography. Even without the context of the film's other excellent qualities, it's a shame that the cinematography of "Eighth Grade" is legitimately poor. Cinematographer, Andrew Wehde, seems to have brought the same artistic vision from his background of filming live comedy specials. The shots aren't just bland, they look unprofessional. Certain scenes are distracting due to their odd lens choices while others are just straight up out of focus. One specific scene begins as a wide shot before zooming into a close up. The problem is as opposed to using a different lens to zoom in, the cameraman walks forward about thirty feet, drawing out the scene while jiggling the camera with every step. Awkward moments like this seem more fitting in a high school video film project. "Eighth Grade" has beautiful messages, writing, and acting, it's just a shame that it had to be covered with such ugly camera work.
While all the acting is superb, the highlight is the breakout performance by Elsie Fisher. There are two main problems in a poor child performance: the writing of an adult with no insight into the mind of a young character and child actors flatly reading lines in front of them. These common frustrations are missing in "Eighth Grade" thanks to Burnham's excellent dialogue and Fisher's very competent grasp of her character. There is a surprising amount of challenge in portraying a character so similar to yourself. It's clear Fisher relates to Kayla's problems as she does a fantastic job in portraying problems like social and general anxiety. She throws in many subtleties in her performance such as annoyed motions when talking to her dad, nervous pacing or uncomfortable posing in social situations. At fifteen, it's clear she is a talent to keep your eyes on.
In a surprising turn of events, Burnham's writing is fantastic yet works better as a coming of age drama rather than a comedy. There are plenty of genuinely funny moments here and their, however far and away most of the humor comes from awkward/cringe encounters, which is great if that's your cup of tea. This isn't to disregard the writing in any aspect as it is simply that the dramatic/non-comedic moments are often far superior. As perviously mentioned all characters sound act like real middle schoolers do. This allows all the conflicts and reactions to feel incredibly realistic and relatable. Many moments transcend problems of adolescence and connect universally. There is a scene in which Kayla describes having anxiety in a way that is so simple yet profound. There is a ton of heart in the writing, its clear this has been a project close to Bo's heart for a very long time now. "Eighth Grade" just feels so goddamn genuine! The tone ebbs and flows better than the vast majority of films out right now. The switch from comedy to drama is never abrupt and fits very appropriately with our main character. Bo Burnham writing shapes a film that is relatable for kids without ever sacrificing its integrity or dumbing anything down.
Its been a very long time since I've seen a film in which the quality of the the film varies so dramatically in aspects as "Eighth Grade" does between acting/script and the cinematography. Even without the context of the film's other excellent qualities, it's a shame that the cinematography of "Eighth Grade" is legitimately poor. Cinematographer, Andrew Wehde, seems to have brought the same artistic vision from his background of filming live comedy specials. The shots aren't just bland, they look unprofessional. Certain scenes are distracting due to their odd lens choices while others are just straight up out of focus. One specific scene begins as a wide shot before zooming into a close up. The problem is as opposed to using a different lens to zoom in, the cameraman walks forward about thirty feet, drawing out the scene while jiggling the camera with every step. Awkward moments like this seem more fitting in a high school video film project. "Eighth Grade" has beautiful messages, writing, and acting, it's just a shame that it had to be covered with such ugly camera work.
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