TIFF18 Review “Teen Spirit”

We all know the story of Cinderella and we’ve seen it play out in movies a million times before, but what if instead of trying to win the prince’s love, she was instead just trying to win X Factor?

This is essentially the premise of Teen Spirit, which marks another TIFF film to focus on singing divas. It’s the debut film of actor/director Max Minghella, known for his roles in The Social Network and The Handmaids Tale. Teaming up with It girl actress Elle Fanning, the film shows the rise of young Violet, a shy girl living on the Isle of Wight in the UK with her single mother (Agnieszka Grochowska). 

She spends her days listening to indie tracks on her iPod while tending to the different animals on the farm. Sometimes she sings at local bars and it’s during one of these performances she encounters Vlad (Zlatko Buric) a former opera singer of ambiguous Eastern European origin who promises become her own fairy godmother essentially and help Violet with her singing so she can win the biggest singing competition in the country, “Teen Spirit.”

The film features a great performance by Fanning, who apparently did her own singing. She belts out pop hits like Robyn’s “Dancing on my Own” and Ellie Goulding’s “Lights” in performances that are the highlight of the film.

Cinematographer Autumn Durald Arkapaw has also shot several music videos which makes sense as all the parts which feature Fanning singing feel like a neon-filled dream of a music video.

While the film won’t be an Oscar darling, it definitely shows Minghella’s potential as a filmmaker and also Fanning’s singing talent which could lead to future musical roles. The film has an amazing soundtrack filled with pop hits from the ’90s and present-day that are guaranteed to have you dancing in your seat.