Teenage *** (2013) – Movie Review

Writer-director Matt Wolf and Jon Savage’s documentary, comprised of rare archival material, filmed portraits and voices lifted from early 20th-century diary entries, has a good go at providing a back story to the arrival of the teenager on the social scene in the 50s.

There’s some great old footage and photos to show, and some good stories to tell, as adults and adolescents lock horns in the first half of the 20th century. It all seems a bit of a jumble, with re-enactments mixed in willy nilly with real archive film and movie footage, and with images deliberating clashing up against each other such as the Boy Scouts juxtaposed against the Hitler Youth. But it’s a fascinating jumble.

It’s likeable, entertaining and engrossing, fast moving too, and it doesn’t outstay its welcome at just 78 minutes. I could have done with a bit more, actually. I’d like to see some of the footage they rejected in their amazing trawl through the pictorial archives.

No clear messages emerge, apart from the obvious central one, but you can simply let it enjoyably wash over you. Best just to relish to pictures. I’d no idea where we were with the voices over the images – Ben Whishaw’s British Boy, Jena Malone’s American Girl, Julia Hummer’s German Girl etc – but it’s best to let the voices just wash over you as well.

Whishaw entered into a civil partnership with his partner Australian composer Mark Bradshaw in Australia in August 2012 after meeting on the set of Bright Star (2009). At 32, he is the youngest actor to play Q in a James Bond film, Casino Royale in 2013.

© Derek Winnert 2014 Movie Review

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Kathleen Hanna, Adam Horovitz and Matt Wolf.