The Starling Girl Movie Review (2023)
A coming-of-age drama about a teenager trying to find herself while being raised in a Christian fundamentalist community, The Starling Girl is thoughtful yet emotionally restrained.
I really enjoy when a film has a focus on religion. It adds an element of culture and expectation that you can’t get quite the same way anywhere else. So whether it’s a Hindu wedding in A Nice Indian Boy or an overbearing Jewish family in Trust, it’s fascinating to be dipped in someone else’s intimate cultural reality.
The Starling Girl is about Jem, a 17-year-old girl being raised in a Christian fundamentalist community. She has a close-knit family, loves to dance, and is expected to take care of her younger siblings without being asked. She lives her life understanding that everything she does should be in service to God, but when a slightly older youth pastor shows up after a hiatus, she is undeniably taken with him.
This is a very quiet and thoughtful piece that brings you through Jem’s journey of growth and the slowly developing understanding of the world she lives in. It is a social structure where men and women are expected to court and marry young, and produce a family to continue their reverence for the culture and spiritual worship.
At 17, Jem has been instructed that her physical impulses are provided by the devil, and while she appears to have a great deal of guilt about them, she begins to process that everything may not be what it seems. There is an expectation to be perfect, but she sees that her parents aren’t, they only hide behind a thinly veiled sheen of perfection.
While I found the narrative intriguing, the somber mood and low-key pacing left any emotional connection somewhat muted. The realism here is notable, which had me wishing that I could feel more for Jem’s journey. But instead, I watched her story from afar, hoping she could find her way to her authentic self, without feeling particularly invested in the turmoil of her relationships.
This is a lovely piece to explore visually and in the realm of analyzing desire vs. moral complexity. What is a child to think when she has been raised to yield cultural perfection, but she sees that her parents aren’t doing the same? Is lying to keep up appearances in the community the right thing to do? Or is it only right enough when you love the people doing it?
The Starling Girl is a thought-provoking drama that will prompt reflection on different communities and the expectations in your own life. Some people will enjoy the observational quality more than others, but overall, it has something to say.
Runtime: 116 minutes
Motion Picture Rating: R
Languages Spoken In The Film: English
Should You Watch It? Yes
Did I Cry? Nope
My Rating: 3/5 Stars
Available: Free on Tubi or Netflix, to rent on Prime Video, or may be available for free on other streaming platforms
