In a day and age where relentless revamping of treasured stories is an annoying inevitability, “Are You There, God? It’s Me, Margaret”, despite being too long a title to condense to fit it in this description….is what I’d consider a damn near perfect adaptation.
And considering I’m someone who believe perfection in this world doesn’t exist, that’s saying a lot.
This film has a wealth of excellent performances between Abby Ryder’s subtle grace, Rachel McAdams charm and subdued dramatic weight and the eccentric aura Kathy Bates bleeds on screen; everyone else is having fun and thriving.
I love how naturally the cinematography and editing thrive on simplicity while working adjacent with this throwback quality at a pretty sturdy pace and on a perceptive, vibrant, consistent tone.
The songs themselves set the mood for each scene, Hans Zimmer’s score is always a delight, the runtime accommodates for the narratives succinctly and pleasantly low stakes and it’s difficult not to take notice of Cinematographer Tim Ives’ impeccable attention to detail with each shot, capturing the tranquil texture of what seems like easier times with both sheen and flair. The choice of setting is consistent with the restraint about the telling of this story, thanks to the effortless recreation of its sets and Ann Roth’s costume design for the appropriate time period. On a minor note, also, it’s so refreshing to see this adaptation's attention to inclusivity and embrace diversity in a way that avoids being enforced and spoon-fed.
The direction Kelly Fremon Craig aims for and achieves is explicit but also very gentle. She makes very sure to treat Margaret’s concerns seriously by not passing judgement on any immature mistakes made since she is still a kid but also, thankfully, avoids meddling with the experience beyond what needs to be included. She’s also not afraid in making each scene look natural in how cringe or ridiculous it might come off as.
I can definitely see how this book was popular with girls in the 1970’s as its story doesn’t shy away from young girls confronting early-adolescent anxieties, such as menstruation, brassieres and boys but it also stresses the importance of learning hard lessons about peer pressure, how painful lies can be, and, of course, the power of being true to yourself. My issues stemmed from whether or not they were going to tell all of that completely straight or work their way around it to lessen the impact; as the book is more episodic in its structure, this movie kind of does both. It illustrates girlhood in preciously small ways regardless of age and the script makes sure that every other characters' flaws are understood as much as their strengths too.
Whether it’s first dipping into the fountain of adolescent anxieties or carrying the full weight of parenthood, job responsibilities and beyond, this is a movie that I believe ACTUALLY speaks to everyone. That innocent need for guidance, spiritual or otherwise is a constant persistence in life we either don’t know how to ask for, where to look or try to avoid and we do whatever we can to try and fit in with what’s expected of us. There’s something enlightening about how mundane those scenes are played out but also…..almost biblical in how seamlessly the narrative structure showcases the effectiveness and stupidity of religion than other religion-based films, bleeding into the messy that allows the parallels of the adults to reflect off Margaret’s own life and vice versa.
You can never stop growing up no matter how old you get and most of the tension that builds up comes from the turbulence of these characters trying to make sense of their place in the world; a deeply emotional generational story representation of a complicated family dynamic being handled with such care and compassion. Do they make sense of it entirely by the end? Not necessarily but it’s the journey that matters more than just the destination and the film understands that thoroughly.
I’ve seen some minor complaints hopping around about some plotlines being left unresolved between the characters but that was something the book also did as well. It doesn’t bother me here because it also just so happens to play well into Kelly’s style of directing: not everything is wrapped up in a way that’s tidy and pleasing because that’s not how life is. Loose ends are going to be plenty.
The bigger minor complaint I have is the crushing inevitability that this film is eerily similar to other coming-of-age movies that follow a similar plot. As some of those movies probably looked to Judy Blumes novel for guidance, it only seems fair to take notice of the fact that this was never going to break any ground. But considering the book it was based off, it had no interest in doing that.
Taking the best bits of “The Edge of Seventeen” and further expanding on the effervescent yet fraught narrows of age transitioning, Kelly Fremon Craig’s respect and exploration on prickly family dynamics and the fortitude and foibles of womanhood turns Judy Blumes seminal novel into the adaptation it deserves.
