Time: 99 Minutes
Age Rating: R16 – Drug use & offensive language, Sexual material, Sexual violence
Cast:
Ani Palmer as Sid
Noah Taylor as Leo
Rain Spencer as Freya
Beatrix Rain Wolfe as Lana
Director: Paloma Schneideman

NZIFF is finally here, and the first of the 5 movies I chose to watch at the festival was its opening film: Big Girls Don’t Cry. I only knew that it was a coming of age movie which received positive reactions at film festivals (including a shout out from Kristen Stewart), and I found out more recently that it actually was a movie from New Zealand. It ended up being one of my favourite movies of the year so far.

Coming of age stories can be very hit or miss for me. However, Big Girls Don’t Cry was grounded, intimate, understated and authentic enough that it had me invested and captivated from beginning to end. It’s about protagonist Sid’s search for identity, especially as a queer teen girl. We see her unsure about herself, watching others, pretending to be people she’s not, and all the insecurity, isolation and awkwardness that she feels, especially as someone who doesn’t know herself. It’s definitely not the easiest movie to watch. Sid finds herself in some awkward moments and uncomfortable (even dangerous) situations. But it doesn’t shy away from depicting those moments, while also approaching the story and character with tenderness. The movie doesn’t have a conclusive ending, but it’s by design, as it’s just depicting a portion of Sid’s girlhood, which happens to be over a summer holiday.

Ani Palmer is amazing in the lead role. As Sid, she’s believable and feels incredibly natural, as she goes through changes and transformations during her self discovery, and her reactions are subtle and feel incredibly real. The rest of the cast are great too, including Rain Spencer and Noah Taylor. Everyone just felt authentic in their parts.

The direction from Paloma Schneideman is stellar, it’s a very good debut film from her. It’s beautifully shot, I liked the focus on bodies, especially with the movie being from Sid’s perspective. The film feels firmly set in the 2000s and seems to capture that vibe. It’s well edited, the sound design was top notch, and I really liked the soundtrack.

Big Girls Don’t Cry is an honest, authentic, tender, and incredibly directed queer coming of age film, with a phenomenal lead performance from Ani Palmer.