Pfft! Mission: Impossible – Fallout? Walk in the park! Hereditary? More like Schmeditary! A Quiet Place? Sounds like paradise, am I right? Who would have thought that the most anxiety inducing, stressful, painful, and sometimes downright frightening moviegoing experience I’ve had in a very long time would be Bo Burnham’s directorial debut, the coming-of-age dramedy, Eighth Grade?
The film follows 13 year old Kayla (Elsie Fisher), who is in her last week of eighth grade. It’s largely plotless as we simply go along for the ride, so to speak, experiencing her various misadventures as she navigates the social scene, tries to deal with her anxieties, find a voice for herself, and gain the acceptance of her peers.
It’s honestly no exaggeration when I saw I spent nearly the entire movie wincing and looking through my fingers. The reason it’s so effective in that regard is that it operates on a level where it feels like some kind of PTSD flashback. The camera is almost always on Kayla’s eye level, it has this hyperrealism in terms of filling the movie with all this minutiae that speaks that specific period in adolescence, and the dialogue is stilted and awkward in the way kids in this age tend to be, which is a far cry from the kind of quick witticisms and reference dropping quips that typically dominate coming-of-age films. It does a pitch perfect job at putting you in Kayla’s perspective, tapping in on those all too relatable anxieties, which some of us still experience in adulthood, and Burnham effortlessly plays with the audience’s buttons for maximum effect.
But it might not have worked had it not been for Elsie Fisher’s performance. She carries the film incredibly well, grounding the occasionally outlandish turns to cringe comedy, and she brings a lot of pathos and empathy. Given that Burnham’s rise to fame started with YouTube, he refreshingly doesn’t judge Kayla for her extensive social media use and her devotion to her YouTube videos – despite not getting many views. Many films are quick to judge younger generations for their constant phone use, but this simply lets them be, and it actually explores the nuances in how the internet changes the way kids socialize and the way it can help and hinder their growth as individuals without making it feel like some apocalyptic shift. And most importantly, it’s never lecturing, it’s always speaking on Kayla’s level, and uses her to inform the mood of any given scene.
As a debut, Burnham makes an impressive mark through his writing and his stylistic flourishes. There’s a fun running gag where Kyla is entranced at the mere sight of her crush. Tiny details are spread throughout that add authenticity to the way the kids speak, a lot if which revolves around internet memes. The characters are noticeably un-Hollywoodized, with all their grossness and weird ticks being on full display. He brings the kind of light touch you’d expect, but with flashes of darkness and tragedy. One funny sequence essentially points out the normalization of gun violence in schools, to where it’s basically a joke to the middle-schoolers. And Kayla herself is seemingly very acutely aware of her anxieties, but struggles in coping with them in a healthy way, which in turn affects her confidence and self-esteem. However, when she does experience joy, Burnham brilliantly uses those moments as temporary relief for the audience as they are for the character.
In a strange way, I kind of hated the experience of watching Eighth Grade, but I sincerely mean that in the best way possible. It’s very rare to see a coming-of-age film that fully embraces the trauma and anxieties of youth in such an assertive way without coming across as condescending, disingenuous, or inauthentic. Bo Burnham shows he can add “great filmmaker” to an already intimidatingly long list of talents as he crafts an expressive film that speaks to a specific point-of-view in an empathetic, and meaningful manner. Elsie Fisher is a wonderful presence, and her back and forth between her father – played by Josh Hamilton – is profoundly touching and poignant. I’d be hard pressed to find any film prior to this coming even close to perfectly capturing the voice of this current generation, and it definitely sets a high bar for future attempts.
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