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By Katie Goulding On Wednesday the 27th of February 2019, I travelled to Dublin with some classmates to attend the Dublin International Film Festival screening of the critically-acclaimed independent film Eighth Grade, which is written and directed by Bo Burnham. We also got the opportunity to experience a Q&A session with Bo afterwards, which was something that I was extremely looking forward to. Believe me when I say both Bo and his film did not disappoint. It has been a few weeks since the event, and I am still thinking about the film. It has given me a lot of inspiration as an aspiring filmmaker, but also as a film lover. It has given me hope that there are more stories like those told in Eighth Grade to come in film. Bo Burnham’s film Eighth Grade is the story of a girl named Kayla (played by the remarkable Elsie Fisher), an aspiring Youtuber who is transitioning from middle school to high school. The film tackles subjects surrounding youth today in a way that is painfully cringeworthy to watch, while also being immensely accurate, engaging, and relatable. Burnham’s effortless use of comedy and humour shine through the entire film, and the whole audience bursting into laughter for five minutes at a time. The entirety of the movie felt very raw and honest, as if Bo himself had dived into the mind of every thirteen-year-old girl and displayed their exact thoughts and feelings onto the screen. His ability to understand young people in today’s society was incredible and very refreshing to see. It was delightful that young people were recognised for having problems, anxieties and insecurities of their own. This film did not seem patronising in any way, unlike many teen-movies/coming of age stories we see in film today. I recall in an episode of “Teens React” on the Fine Bros “React” YouTube channel, where they had eighth graders react to the film, Burnham said that he didn’t want his film to look like it was made for eighth graders, because “often when it is made for eighth graders it like, to me, feels pandery or aspirational and I didn’t want to do that, I just wanted to capture what they were.” He goes on to discuss his issue with coming of age films, which was something that really stuck with me from this interview. He says, “that’s my problem with stuff about teens; it’s clearly made for teens which is not the same as making something truthful.” As I said, this is something that stuck with me and something that I was thinking about a lot while watching the film. It did not feel once as if he was trying to be patronising or talk down to young people, and he did not shy away from the truth: that young people are awkward and uncomfortable with themselves, and they are continuing to figure out what they want, what they like, and who they are. Burnham’s brilliance was evident throughout the film, even the smallest moments hit the nail on the head. In one scene Kayla goes to a pool party and has a panic attack in the bathroom, before going outside and joining everyone else in the water. What I liked, firstly, about this sequence is the fact that Burnham acknowledged that young people have anxiety and panic attacks, without playing it off as if they are “shy” or “nervous” like a lot of films do. He was honest with us and put it right in front of us, basically announcing to everyone: Teenagers get anxiety and it is okay, and normal. This was very refreshing to see on screen.
As the scene continues we see Kayla getting into the pool, where she is joined by a character called Gabe. He asks her if she wants to see him do a handstand in the pool and Kayla says yes. After a few failed attempts Gabe claims that there are too many people in the pool and the water is too rough. It is little details like these that made me feel as if Bo Burnham understood young people. That moment in the scene had the entire cinema cracking up with laughter and I think it is not only because of the comedic timing of the lines, but also because it was relatable. Everyone has tried to do something, failed, and then blamed it on something else. There are so many other moments like these in the film that make it so loveable and charismatic. The cinematography was also terrific in Eighth Grade. Something that I always pick up on in films is when text messages are superimposed onto a phone-screen. It is a major pet-peeve of mine, as it is so unrealistic and obvious that the character is not even typing anything or actually scrolling through their phone. In the Q&A session with Bo after the film, a member of the audience commented on this aspect of the cinematography, and how it differs in this film. We can see in Eighth Grade that Kayla is actually typing her own text messages and scrolling through Twitter and liking real Instagram pictures. The audience member asked Bo if this was something he considered a minor element of the filmmaking process or whether it was something he did intentionally. Bo laughed and said that it was completely intentional as there is nothing that irritates him more in films than superimposed text messages. All I wanted to do in that moment was jump in the air. It was something so small to me, but it really reinforced my admiration for Burnham and his filmmaking style. Overall, Eighth Grade was incredible, massively refreshing and utterly charming. Elsie Fisher’s performance was brilliant and she deserves more credit than she is getting for carrying the whole film on her shoulders. Bo Burnham’s ability to ace the smallest elements of filmmaking, as well as carefully executing the realities of youth in both his writing and directing made this film immensely enjoyable. If you have not seen Eighth Grade yet, I would recommend adding it to your list. 10/10
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