The New York Times
"Teen Spirit," Max Minghella's sweet and touching directing debut, is both proudly clichéd and refreshingly different.
Full review
Teen Spirit (2018)
Elle Fanning (The Neon Demon) is a shy teenager dreaming of pop stardom in actor Max Minghella's (The Handmaid's Tale) Cinderella-like feature debut.
"Seventeen-year-old Violet (Fanning) lives with her mother (Agnieszka Grochowska) on a small farm on the Isle of Wight. Her days are spent doing chores, waiting tables, and attending secondary school, where she keeps to herself. But in her free time - spent alone in her room, in the fields with her beloved horse, or at an under-attended open-mic night - Violet surrenders to song ... Vlad (Zlatko Buric), a once-celebrated opera singer, hears Violet and knows she's something special. He declares himself her manager and trainer, accompanying her as she tries out for a popular televised musical talent program called Teen Spirit." (Toronto International Film Festival)
201892 minsUK
DramaMusicFestival & Independent
- Director:
- Max Minghella (feature debut)
- Writer:
- Max Minghella
- Cast:
- Elle FanningRebecca HallZlatko BuricMillie BradyJordan StephensElizabeth BerringtonStephen BoxerJohn Locke
Teen Spirit (2018) / Reviews
Los Angeles Times
"Teen Spirit" is somewhere between feeling abbreviated and wearing out its welcome.
Full reviewVulture
It's a star-is-born story that, like its protagonist, is an empty vessel: anonymous and devoid of soul perhaps in an effort to be a surface onto which anyone could project, yet dull enough that few will want to.
Full reviewVulture
It's a star-is-born story that, like its protagonist, is an empty vessel: anonymous and devoid of soul perhaps in an effort to be a surface onto which anyone could project, yet dull enough that few will want to.
Full review
Variety
A movie that's formulaic in every detail but that passes off its particular cute brand of British Isles whimsy as a vaguely high-toned signifier of "authenticity."
Full review
Sight & Sound
Notwithstanding this less than original narrative, Minghella's keen eye for detail enriches the film with a warm familiarity.
Full review
Little White Lies
Teen Spirit is a celebration of candid energy and the cookie-cutter charm of a very specific dream-making machine.
Full review
Hollywood Reporter
This making-of-a-star drama is old-fashioned and corny, and not in a good way.
Full review
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