He tries to start a conversation with her, but she abruptly leaves in embarrassment. Jem think she’s alone, but doesn’t see until it’s too late that Owen is nearby and has been watching her. Even though Ben seems to be attracted to Jem, she is not at all attracted to Ben, who is socially awkward and a little weird.Īfter being reprimanded about her bra being visible through her dress, Jem goes outside the church to a semi-secluded area of the lawn and cries in shame. Heidi in particular is enthusiastic about the possibility of Ben and Jem getting married, because the marriage would elevate the status of the Starling family in the community. Pastor Taylor has two children: 28-year-old Owen Taylor (played by Lewis Pullman) and 17-year-old Ben Taylor (played by Austin Abrams), who is expected to be the one to date Jem and possibly be her future husband. Within the first 15 minutes of “The Starling Girl,” it becomes obvious that Jem’s parents, especially her mother, want to impress church leader Pastor Taylor (played by Kyle Secor) and his family. Stone has noticed that the bra is visible from your dress.” Jem’s homemaker mother Heidi Starling (played by Wrenn Schmidt) says apologetically, “We try to be very conscious, but sometimes things slip.” Baker) says sternly to Jem in front of Jem’s family and some other people in the congregation: “Mrs. After their performance, which gets polite applause from the congregation, Jem is in a very good mood.īut her upbeat mood soon turns to despair when, after the church service, the church pastor’s wife Anne Taylor (played by K.J. ![]() Dancing is a passion for Jem, who also likes to do choreography for the group. The girls all wear matching long white dresses. It’s what happens to Jem after a chaste dance performance that she does with some other local teenage girls at their community church. Something as simple as wearing an outfit that shows the outline of a bra underneath can be reason enough for a girl to get scolded or lectured to by an adult. Women and girls in this community are monitored and judged for what they say, do and wear around men and boys. It’s a community where people of the female gender are expected to be subservient to people of the male gender. In “The Starling Girl,” the title character is 17-year-old Jemima “Jem” Starling (played by Scanlen), who is navigating her way to adulthood in a conservative Christian community. Depending on the teenager’s environment and individual personality, this transitional phase can either help or hurt a teenager’s emotional growth. ![]() The teenager wants the freedom of an adult, but legally the teenager has to be treated like a child. The movie takes place in Kentucky in the mid-2000s, but “The Starling Girl” has a timeless quality that transcends locations and generations, in the way that it depicts the relatable, restless energy of a teenager on the cusp of adulthood. ![]() “The Starling Girl” (which had its world premiere at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival) is an impressive feature-film debut from writer/director Laurel Parmet. ![]() It’s a movie that doesn’t offer easy answers to the main characters’ problems, but it’s made clear to viewers that these problems are made worse in a culture of denial and hypocrisy. Eliza Scanlen gives a riveting performance as a 17-year-old experiencing self-discovery. “The Starling Girl” is a memorable coming-of-age story that artfully juxtaposes depictions of repression and rebellion without falling into the usual plot clichés. Jimmi Simpson and Wrenn Schmidt in “The Starling Girl” (Photo by Brian Lannin/Bleecker Street) By Carla Hay Eliza Scanlen and Lewis Pullman in “The Starling Girl” (Photo by Brian Lannin/Bleecker Street)Ĭulture Representation: Taking place in Kentucky in the mid-2000s, the dramatic film “The Starling Girl” has an all-white cast of characters representing the working-class and middle-class.Ĭulture Clash: A 17-year-old girl in a strict, religious community has a taboo affair with her married, 28-year-old youth pastor, while her troubled father struggles with his own personal issues.Ĭulture Audience: “The Starling” will appeal primarily to people who are interested in movies that realistically explore issues of religion, teenage sexual awakenings, self-identity and moral hypocrisy.
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