What a beautiful, beautiful movie. This movie seems like it would be a hard sell for anyone because not a lot happens except, you know, adolescence. But it is so good at depicting it. Saoirse Ronan is just perfect in this because she creates a character who is flawed and lovable and if you didn't feel absolute affection for her then there would be no point to this movie. But you do because it's so true to being a teenager and it's just great. The prickly relationship with her mom is exceptional because no one is a monster (there are a few moments where you can't believe how harsh they are to one another but both actresses do such an excellent job you get it. They aren't bad people, though the mom edges that way, they just make mistakes) but both seem to purposefully cause more problems than they should. It just feels human and true in a very rare way. There are some silly moments that maybe don't entirely ring true (football coach as the play director). A few of the music cues felt off to me. Those nitpicks are about all I can say negative about this movie though.