Eighth Grade is a 2018 American comedy-drama film written and directed by Bo Burnham, in his feature film directorial debut. The plot follows the life and struggles of an eighth-grader, played by Elsie Fisher, during her last week of classes before embarking for high school. The film premiered on January 19, as part of the U.S. Dramatic Competition section of the 2018 Sundance Film Festival. It was theatrically released in the United States by A24 on July 13, 2018 and is set for international release by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures through their Buena Vista International label. The film received acclaim from critics, with praise for Burnham's script and direction and Fisher's performance.
Video Eighth Grade (film)
Plot
Kayla Day is an eighth grade student finishing her final week at Suffern Middle School. She posts motivational videos on YouTube about confidence and self-image that get almost no views, while struggling at school to make friends, winning the "Most Quiet" award from her classmates. Mark, her single father, struggles to connect with her and break her reliance on social media.
Kayla gets invited to a pool party hosted by a classmate, Kennedy, who has invited her only because her mother forced her to. Kayla has an anxiety attack in the bathroom, but eventually goes outside to swim, where she meets Gabe, Kennedy's eccentric cousin. Kayla later has an awkward encounter with her crush, Aiden, who suggests that she rejoin the group. She overcomes her fear and volunteers to sing karaoke.
Kayla overhears that Aiden broke up with his last girlfriend because she refused to send him nude photos. Kayla mentions to him in passing that she has a dirty photos folder on her phone, a fabricated story that piques his interest. He asks if she gives blowjobs, and she says yes, not knowing what it means. She later looks it up online and is disgusted.
Kayla attends a high school shadow program, where she meets Olivia, a nice high school senior who shows her around the school. Olivia gives Kayla her number and later invites her to hang out at the mall with her and some of her friends. They have a good time, though Kayla spots Mark spying from afar and, embarrassed, tells him to leave. Olivia's friend Riley gives Kayla a ride home late at night, and he initiates an awkward game of truth or dare where he asks about her sexual experience, takes off his shirt, and asks her to remove hers. She refuses and he angrily backs off, claiming he was just trying to help her get some experience with boys. Kayla breaks down at home and is comforted by her father. She makes a video announcing that she intends to stop making videos, as she feels unfit to give advice when she is not even able to follow her own.
Kayla opens a time capsule she created for herself in sixth grade. She watches a video she made for herself, where her past self asks questions about Kayla's friends and love life. She asks her dad to help her burn the time capsule and asks if she makes him sad. He says that she fills him with pride and he could never be sad about her, which relieves her.
At graduation, Kayla rebukes Kennedy for ignoring her thank-you letter and acting indifferent towards her despite Kayla's attempts to be nice. She later hangs out at Gabe's house and they have a fun time together. Kayla makes a new time capsule which she and her father bury in the backyard; she leaves a video message for her high school self encouraging her to persevere through tough times.
Maps Eighth Grade (film)
Cast
Production
Development
Comedian Bo Burnham, who had never directed a feature before, described his conception of the film, saying he had suffered a number of panic attacks since 2013. While "feeling unsure about" himself, he reflected on his notion that eighth grade is a crucial year for forming self-awareness:
I wanted to talk about anxiety and what it feels like to be alive right now, and what it is to be unsure and nervous. That felt more like middle school than high school to me. I think the country and the culture is going through an eighth-grade moment right now.
Work on the screenplay began in 2014. Kayla was not the sole protagonist in initial drafts of the screenplay, but Burnham decided to focus on her. To write dialogue representing Generation Z, Burnham watched YouTube. He decided his protagonist would be female after watching YouTube, saying, "the boys talk about Minecraft and the girls talk about their souls ... probably half because girls are just actually maturing more quickly and half because culture asks way deeper questions of young women earlier than men".
Burnham's views on Generation Z inspired a scene where a character theorizes access to Snapchat at an early age molded the generation's minds. Kayla and Mark's relationship was based on Burnham's relationship with his mother. Burnham viewed the teenager's relationship with his or her parent as a stage where "You want independence, and you also want affirmation".
Casting
Fifty girls auditioned for Kayla, with Burnham casting Elsie Fisher because "She was the only one who felt like a shy kid pretending to be confident - everyone else felt like a confident kid pretending to be shy". Burnham discovered Fisher on YouTube and had her audition three times. Fisher was graduating from Grade 8 at the time, with shooting to begin one week later.
Teachers and students at Suffern Middle School in New York were used as extras, with principal Brian Fox saying five to 10 students were cast; Band teacher Dave Yarrington said Burnham cast him because he "liked my look".
Filming
The film was shot in Suffern, New York in summer 2017, with shooting at Suffern Middle School. Burnham did not cover up the natural look of Fisher's skin. Fisher's habit of ending conversations with "Gucci!" were imitated by Burnham and others on set, and incorporated into the film as the sign-off for Kayla's video blogs.
For the soundtrack, Burnham considered using "Orinoco Flow" by Enya, and said upon relistening to the song, he thought it was "very deep" and could make a web browsing scene "feel religious". Burnham personally wrote a letter to Enya asking permission for usage.
Release
The film premiered in competition at the 2018 Sundance Film Festival on January 19. It subsequently went to the Seattle International Film Festival for its closing weekend in June 2018.
A24 gave Eighth Grade its theatrical release on July 13. Upon its release, the Motion Picture Association of America gave it an R rating for profanity and content about fellatio, a decision critics derided for denying teenage viewers a film with positive messages. Burnham regretted the rating for excluding middle school-aged youth, but said he had wanted realism in his film, leading to content MPAA found objectionable. To get around the rating, A24 arranged one free, unrated screening in each U.S. state on August 8.
Reception
Box office
Eighth Grade opened in four theaters on July 13, grossing $252,284 in its first weekend. Its per-screen average of $63,071 is the best of 2018 thus far (beating Isle of Dogs' record of $60,011). It expanded to 33 theaters in its second weekend, grossing $794,370, and then made $1.3 million from 518 theaters in its third weekend. The film began its wide release on August 3 and grossed $2.9 million from 1,084 theaters, finishing 12th at the box office.
Critical response
On the review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 98% based on 181 reviews, with an average rating of 8.8/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "Eighth Grade takes a look at its titular time period that offers a rare and resounding ring of truth while heralding breakthroughs for writer-director Bo Burnham and captivating star Elsie Fisher". On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 90 out of 100, based on 45 critics, indicating "universal acclaim".
Richard Roeper judged the film "sweet and intelligent", commenting "We cringe for Kayla" and crediting Fisher for "an authentic and utterly natural performance". Peter Travers hailed Eighth Grade as "special and unique" for its "empathy", writing it is neutral on the Internet but Kayla is addicted to electronics. Ty Burr also cited Fisher for a performance showing "supreme awkwardness and not a shred of vanity" and Josh Hamilton for playing his part with "an empathetic cringe". For The New Yorker, Naomi Fry credited Eighth Grade with "queasy verisimilitude" and exploring the impact of social media on the lives of teenagers. Fry also referenced actress Molly Ringwald's approval; Ringwald tweeted "I just saw @eighthgrademov and thought it was the best film about adolescence I've seen in a long time. Maybe ever". Ann Hornaday of The Washington Post cited Fisher for "a raw, radiantly generous performance". Variety's Peter Debruge judged the film "achingly honest" but clichéd in having Kayla infatuated with one boy (played by Luke Prael) and ignoring a better love interest (played by Jake Ryan) until the later acts.
In The Los Angeles Times, Justin Chang evaluated Eighth Grade as "sharp, sensitive and enormously affecting". Entertainment Weekly gave it an A, with Chris Nashawaty praising Burnham for capturing Kayla's anxiety and hopes, depicted "in all of their miraculous, cringeworthy, universal beauty". Josiah Hughes from Exclaim! applauded the film, saying, "Working with relatively unknown actors and taking an unflinching approach to the harsh agony of teen insecurity, Bo Burnham's first film foray is a resounding success".
Dissenting, Richard Brody wrote the film was let down by "sentiment, stereotypes, and good intentions", and despite Fisher's performance, "Kayla remains merely a collection of traits". The Missoula Independent's Molly Laich compared the realism to being "drilled at the dentist".
Accolades
The film was entered into competition for the Grand Jury Prize at the 2018 Sundance Film Festival.
References
External links
- Official website
- Eighth Grade on IMDb
Source of article : Wikipedia
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