Girl Picture

Girl Picture is a queer coming-of-age film. I’ve seen a lot of such films. It’s common for me to complain about how they’re all very similar or that I’ve seen the same story but done better. But I’m not going to do that for Girl Picture. For one, Girl Picture has a plot I haven’t seen in any other movie. And for another, this is just a really well done coming-of-age film on a technical level. This is going to be one of the films I compare future coming-of-age films to and likely find it lacking in comparison to Girl Picture’s quality.

Hailing from Finland, Girl Picture focuses on three teenage girls on three different Fridays. Mimmi and Rönkkö are best friends and co-workers. Mimmi then meets Emma, a high-level and high-strung figure skater. The two quickly begin dating. Mimmi acts as a freeing influence for Emma, who has a rigid training regime puts lots of pressure on herself to succeed. As Mimmi and Emma develop their relationship, Rönkkö explores her sexuality. Rönkkö doesn’t feel the same desire for sex as Mimmi and other people her age. Mimmi tells her she simply needs “practice.” So, Rönkkö involves herself with various boys, trying to find one that will make sex feel good.

Rönkkö’s storyline is the first time I’ve seen asexuality explored on film. This is actually new ground for coming-of-age films. Mimmi and Emma know that liking girls is a thing, so they don’t really struggle with their identity. Rönkkö doesn’t have this. She doesn’t know it’s even an option to not like sex. She spends the film thinking something’s wrong with either her or her partners. While for Mimmi and Emma, their romance and physicality represents freedom, for Rönkkö, it makes her feel trapped. Girl Picture leaves it until the last scene for Rönkkö to admit to herself and a potential date that she doesn’t like sex. She never discovers nor uses the word asexual. But hopefully, for people who see Girl Picture, Rönkkö’s story might resonate and allow them to skip all of the experimentation Rönkkö had to do to find out she’s asexual.

Mimmi and Emma’s relationship isn’t breaking new ground in the same way. Realistically, I have seen similar relationships to this in a dozen other coming-of-age film. But at least this is a good deployment of a common story. Mimmi and Emma feel like real people. Despite their young age, their relationship has a real weight to it, especially for Emma. The connection they share is clearly intense. There’s an almost desperation to some of their scenes. This comes to a head in the third act. Mimmi becomes uncomfortable with the intensity of the relationship and sabotages it. It is an admittedly rushed third-act breakup. It comes out of nowhere and doesn’t last too long. But at least in the moments when they are apart, Mimmi reflects on why she sabotaged them in a very moving scene of regret.

Girl Picture is a film that’s great when you look at it from so many aspects of filmmaking. The story is good. This is a really well paced film. The acting is good. The three leads all feel like real people but they’re also capable of reaching a believable emotional extreme. The directing is really good. Director Alli Haapasalo is obviously a huge force behind the shaping of this film. The cinematography in Girl Picture is great. It’s a visually pleasing and youthful feeling film. Also, shout out to the music. Girl Picture’s use of soundtrack is really excellent.

Girl Picture makes me feel like the kids really are alright. For all the angst and conflict in the film, these girls have a bright future. The film focuses on finding identity as well as strong relationships. Romance and friendship are given equal weight in terms of their importance which is great to see. Director Alli Haapasalo has as bright a future as the characters in her film. This is a really above average coming-of-age film. Every part of Girl Picture just works.

Overall rating: 8.2/10

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