Good coming of age movies leave you feeling hopeful for the future of the characters that inhabit the world of the film; great coming of age films have the confidence to leave its audience conflicted - perhaps things will work out well, but perhaps not, and only time will tell. "The Starling Girl" is a great coming of age story that manages to be heartwarming while simultaneously leaving viewers feeling slightly apprehensive as to what will happen to its characters going forward.
Starring Eliza Scanlen as Jem Starling, "The Starling Girl" follows Jem as she traverses a sort of hazardous upbringing; you see, Jem lives in present day Kentucky, but as her parents are fundamentalist Christians, you'd be forgiven for thinking the movie takes place in the 1970s, at least at first. Jem is allowed no cell phones, no computers, and, no freedom. For all intents and purposes, her life revolves around her church and her faith. And besides little annoyances or two from overzealous church members, Jem doesn't seem to mind this lifestyle. That is, until Owen Taylor, played by Lewis Pullman, comes into the picture. The newest youth pastor, Jem quickly finds herself having a small crush on Own that develops into a full-fledged romance - this is particularly troublesome, given that Own is a married man. From here on out, "The Starling Girl" follows Jem as she navigates the treacherous waters of adultery, abusive parents, and the fight for newfound freedom from fundamentalist Christianity.
"The Starling Girl" was right up my alley, as I have an affinity for both coming of age movies and depictions - both positive and negative - of faith in film. Admittedly, it is easy to nitpick movies that perhaps don't cast the best light on Christianity; however, I feel as if "The Starling Girl" was fair in its presentation - not every member of Jem's church seemed to be as strict as her parents (or to be more accurate, her mother). However, because Jem's parents are so strict, the film is absolutely riveting as Jem tries to juggle her faith with her romantic feelings toward Owen. It's a really intense build up as they both slowly fall for each other, and by the time they share their first kiss? Oh boy - "The Starling Girl" just gets even more gut-wrenching from their on out.
It's hard for a coming of age drama to have me gripping my seat as much as an action movie would, but "The Starling Girl" is absolutely white knuckle. As Jem and Own fall deeper into the rabbit hole of lustful thoughts and actions, things start to spiral out of control through a series of events that had me literally holding my breath at points. I'm telling you, not since "Whiplash" has a drama effected me this much. And the performances only add to this effect, as everyone in this movie is pitch-perfect, portraying an entire range of human emotions as relatabley and effortlessly as possible.
My only complain, as I mentioned in my opening paragraph, is that the ending isn't as clear cut as I'd have hoped. Things may work out well for Jem, but they very well may not. That said, I completely understand what they were going for, and the apprehension I feel is completely within the realm of reality; nothing in this movie feels like a fantasy - it all feels real, including the ending. And ultimately, I loved this movie. "The Starling Girl" is one of the best movies I've watched in 2024 so far, and I am actively looking forward to watching it again.
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