“It’s like, being yourself is hard,” says Kayla in the wonderful coming-of-age film ‘Eighth Grade.’ The refreshing thing about our 13-year-old heroine is that she is played by actress Elsie Fisher of the same age. It makes her performance achingly vulnerable and honest since she is actually in that stage of her life. In so many teen films, twenty-something actors are playing younger characters. Writer-director Bo Burnham avoids this by actually casting kids that are real middle-schoolers. The film has a naturalistic cinema verite feel to it like you’re watching a documentary. Burnham also shows us how today’s teenagers must deal with constant internet and social media use in their daily lives. ‘Eighth Grade’ is one of those rare indie gems that should be placed on your must-see list.
The story is about an awkward 13-year-old girl in the final days of middle school. When we first meet Kayla (Fisher), she’s recording a video for her YouTube channel called “Kayla’s Korner.” The topic is “Being Yourself” as she stumbles through her monologue you get the sense that this pep talk is more for her than for her audience. She always signs off with the catchphrase “Gucci!” In actuality, she does not have a big following on social media. When we see her at school, we begin to understand that middle school is not easy for Kayla. She desperately tries to cover up her acne and hunches over while walking to her class like she’s trying to be invisible. It’s almost as if she is scared to show her classmates her real personality in the fear of being viewed as weird.
The camera never leaves her. We get to see every awkward moment from the perspective of Kayla. Burnham is never condescending to her. There are so many revealing scenes that perfectly illustrate the traumatic experience of middle school. It’s kind of like purgatory. They are not young adults yet and in many respects are still children. There is a brilliant scene where she shadows a girl in high school. The bubbly senior named Olivia (Emily Robinson) takes Kayla under her wing. It gives her hope that high school may not be so bad after all. Another scene perfectly shows the terrors of attending a birthday party for the most popular girl at her school. Burnham skillfully films it like it is a scene in a horror film. We cringe and feel for Kayla as she stands at the sliding glass door in her one-piece bathing suit with slouched shoulders.
There’s also an unsettling scene with an older boy who wants to play a game of “Truth or Dare” in the back seat of his car. It’s one of those cautionary moments that should be viewed by all female teenagers. The film never goes too far and so there is a question mark as to why it received an R-rating. There is nothing too brutal or sexual that makes it deserve such a harsh rating. This is a film that should be seen by middle-schoolers. Besides Fisher’s breakout performance, her father played by Josh Hamilton is terrific. There’s a scene at the dinner table where he is desperately trying to have a conversation with Kayla as she is immersed in her smartphone with ear buds on. It’s a scene that many parents can relate to in this age of the internet.
‘Eighth Grade’ is good because it is so painfully honest. It is an amazing directorial debut for the 27-year-old Burnham who got his start as a comedian on a popular YouTube channel. The film works because his direction is confident and his young star’s portrait of an awkward teen is so relatable. As you sit there watching ‘Eighth Grade,’ you are reminded how painful it was to try to fit in. You also soon realize when Enya’s “Orinoco Flow” plays that this 13-year-old girl will find her identity and be okay like every generation before her.
