A Girl Like Her (2015 film)
| A Girl Like Her | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Amy S. Weber |
| Produced by |
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| Starring | |
| Music by | David Bateman |
| Edited by | Todd Zelin |
| Distributed by | Parkside Releasing |
Release date | March 27, 2015 |
Running time | 91 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
A Girl Like Her is an American found footage drama film directed by Amy S. Weber. The film stars Lexi Ainsworth as Jessica Burns, a 16-year old bullied high school student who attempts suicide. The movie was originally titled The Bully Chronicles but the title was later changed.
Plot
Jessica Burns (Lexi Ainsworth), a sophomore in high school, attempts suicide by taking a handful of pills from her mother's medicine cabinet. Her mother soon finds her unconscious, and Jessica is rushed to a hospital. It is also mentioned that the high school she goes to has won a chance for a documentary for being the only public school to place as one of the top ten schools across the country.
Word of Jessica's suicide attempt and hospitalization spreads quickly throughout the school, and the cameras catch students crying and talking about the situation. The camera crews go around interviewing kids about Jessica, and they reveal that her main tormentor was her former best friend, Avery Keller (Hunter King). Avery became the mean girl of her school. According to Jessica's best friend Brian (Jimmy Bennett), Jessica first fell out with Avery for not wanting Avery to cheat off of her test in a class, and Avery had been relentlessly bullying Jessica since - none of the other students in school seemed to be aware of these details, but had noticed subtle tension between the two. Avery casually denies ever bullying Jessica, and claims they simply drifted apart after transitioning from middle to high school. As a response to the rumors, Avery agrees to record footage of her daily life to demonstrate the pressures of being popular. Though Avery herself is desensitized to it, her footage demonstrates that she comes from a dysfunctional family, and that her peers tend to feel intimidated by her teasing and controlling nature (for example, she and her clique restrict other girls from using a specific public restroom while they apply their makeup).
Brian eventually confesses to the camera crew that 6 months ago, he and Jessica agreed to film Avery's bullying with a hidden camera disguised as a dragonfly pin. He invites them into his home to show them the footage, which documents Avery's constant physical harassment and threats toward Jessica, particularly cruel punishment for walking into Avery's favored public restroom, and Avery's floods of text messages and emails telling Jessica to kill herself. The footage also shows Jessica crying alone in a school hallway when Brian finds her. Jessica strongly suggests to Brian that she's having suicidal thoughts, and Brian tries in vain to console her and convince her to show their hidden camera footage to the school faculty. Jessica makes Brian promise not to show anyone else the footage, for embarrassment and fear of Avery - a promise Brian broke by showing their footage to the camera crew. Brian also confesses to Jessica's mother (while waiting by Jessica's bedside) that he had been withholding the footage - though she is noticeably upset, she reassures Brian that he shouldn't blame himself.
The students at school grow further convinced that Avery had been bullying Jessica, causing Avery and the rest of her clique to turn on each other. The other clique members join to tell the school principal that rumors of Avery's bullying are true, which prompts a conference between Avery, her parents and the principal. Avery's parents are in denial and staunchly defend her, but Avery storms out in frustration and posts an insensitive video rant about Jessica's suicide on social media for all the other students to see. The camera crew approaches Avery again, advising her to remove her social media post and telling her they have proof that she bullied Jessica. They ask her if she wants to see it, and she agrees to meet them at her house that night.
Later that night at the hospital, Jessica's parents are visiting her when she loses her pulse. Her parents and the cameras are kicked out of the ICU, as the doctors attempt to revive Jessica. At this point, Avery is watching the footage of her bullying Jessica. She starts to break down while watching and requests that it be turned off. Crying hysterically, she tells the filmmaker how sorry and regretful she is, as she comforts Avery and tells her that she is really a good person.
The doctors are able to regain Jessica's pulse, but say that due to the non-improvement of her organs, she will eventually succumb to total organ failure if she doesn't wake from the coma soon.
Realizing the consequences of her actions, Avery posts a vlog, tearfully stating that no person deserves to be treated the way she treated Jessica and apologizes profusely. She ends the video with, "My name is Avery Keller, and I'm a bully."
The movie ends with a cut to Jessica's face, in which she opens her eyes and looks around, before finally staring straight into the camera.
Cast
- Hunter King as Avery Keller
- Lexi Ainsworth as Jessica Burns
- Jimmy Bennett as Brian Slater
Reception
Justin Chang of Variety gave A Girl Like Her a mixed review, lauding the film as a "well-acted, well-meaning cautionary tale", but also criticizing it as "less and less convincing the more blatantly it strives for authenticity".[1]
Sheri Linden of The Hollywood Reporter lauded the film's acting, noting that the "two young female leads, exceptionally well cast, deliver strong performances", but felt "the drama lapses into speechifying".[2]
Rotten Tomatoes gave it an overall rating of 65%. This included a few mixed reviews. One review declared it heartbreaking and emotional, but not that convincing as other movies about bullying. Another review had said, "A Girl Like Her unfolds with a clear-eyed approach to the subject - a drama that fleshes out the principals and shows, without excusing the bully, that pain is not the exclusive domain of the victim."
References
- ↑ Justin Chang (March 30, 2015). "Film Review: 'A Girl Like Her'". Variety. Retrieved July 8, 2016.
- ↑ Linden, Sheri (March 25, 2015). "'A Girl Like Her': Film Review". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved July 8, 2016.