The Starling Girl (2023)
88%RT Audience Score: 85%
Awards & Nominations: NA
Laurel Parmet’s debut feature, “The Starling Girl,” is a remarkable and compassionate drama that delves into the complexities of shame and desire within a conservative Christian community. Parmet’s attention to detail in portraying this community is refreshing and nuanced, avoiding the caricatures that often plague this subject matter. Eliza Scanlen’s portrayal of Jem, a young woman struggling to define herself within the confines of her faith, is intuitive and impulsive, refusing to be defined by the rules of her church or the rules of the genre. Parmet’s use of the Christian community as a symbol for the wider world of patriarchy, female body shaming, and dismissal of women’s desires is both clever and thought-provoking. “The Starling Girl” is a must-see for anyone wondering about the world around them, which is everyone.
“The Starling Girl” is a coming-of-age drama that tells the story of Jem, a young woman who refuses to be defined by the rules of her church or the rules of this genre. Critics have praised the film for its nuanced portrayal of a community that is often caricatured in movies, as well as for the exceptional performances of the cast, especially Eliza Scanlen. While some have noted that the film covers familiar territory, others have called it a must-see for anyone wondering about the world around them. Overall, “The Starling Girl” is a tender tale that sticks the landing thanks to Parmet’s rapt attention to the shifting desires of her central character.
Production Company(ies)
Distributor
Bleecker Street
Release Type
Theatrical, Theatrical (Limited)
Filming Location(s)
SHOOT LOCATION(S):
Louisville, Kentucky, United States
MPAA / Certificate
Year of Release
2023
-
Color:Color
-
Sound mix:Dolby
-
Aspect ratio:NA
-
Runtime:1h 56m
-
Language(s):
-
Country of origin:United States
-
Release date:NA
Genre(s)
Drama
Keyword(s)
starring Eliza Scanlen, Lewis Pullman, Jimmi Simpson, Wrenn Schmidt, Claire Elizabeth Green, Ellie May, directed by Laurel Parmet, written by Laurel Parmet, drama, box office performance, budget, reviewed by Ann Hornaday, Robert Abele, Peter Debruge, Ty Burr, Natalia Winkelman, Ross McIndoe, Patrick McDonald, Peter Keough, Thom Ernst, Andrew Parker, Wade Major, Andy Klein, producer Kevin Rowe, Kara Durrett, MPAA rating R, fundamentalist Christian community, rural Kentucky, coming-of-age story, struggles with spiritual faith, dancing, church group, religious devotion, awareness of sexuality, dangerous relationship, youth pastor, community upended, Bleecker Street, 2AM, Sons of Rigor Films, Pinky Promise.
Worldwide gross: NA
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): NA
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): NA
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): NA
US/Canada gross: NA
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted): NA
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): NA
US/Canada opening weekend:
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted): NA
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): NA
Budget and Earnings Details
Production budget (est.): $7,500,000
Production budget (inflation-adjusted): $7,500,000
Production budget ranking: 1,767
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.): $4,038,750
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.): NA
ROI to date (est.): NA
ROI ranking: NA
Lewis Pullman – Owen Taylor
Jimmi Simpson – Paul Starling
Wrenn Schmidt – Heidi Starling
Claire Elizabeth Green – Rebecca Starling
Ellie May – Sarah Starling
Director – Laurel Parmet
Producers – Kevin Rowe, Kara Durrett
Writer – Laurel Parmet
Director(s)
NA
Writer(s)
NA
Producer(s)
NA
Film Festivals
Sundance, South by Southwest
Awards & Nominations
NA
Academy Awards
All Critics (59) | Top Critics (14) | Fresh (55) | Rotten (4)
Parmet is confident enough to know that atmosphere, emotional tone and unspoken feeling can convey far more meaning than the talkiest of dialogue.
May 17, 2023 | Rating: 3/4
Ann Hornaday
Washington Post
TOP CRITIC
Parmet’s less interested in cultish dread than a more naturalistic dullness of isolation and groupthink you’d find in any closed conservative society where women of faith have been sold a purity narrative.
May 15, 2023
Robert Abele
Los Angeles Times
TOP CRITIC
It’s a refreshing change to see this milieu treated with the level of nuance that Laurel Parmet brings to “The Starling Girl.”
May 12, 2023
Peter Debruge
Variety
TOP CRITIC
The saving graces of writer-director Laurel Parmet’s debut feature are the detailed portrayal of a community the movies generally caricature and Scanlen’s intuitive, impulsive Jem.
May 12, 2023 | Rating: 2.5/4
Ty Burr
Ty Burr’s Watch List
TOP CRITIC
A tender tale, “The Starling Girl” twirls through a spate of clichés… but sticks the landing thanks to Parmet’s rapt attention to the shifting desires of her central character.
May 11, 2023
Natalia Winkelman
New York Times
TOP CRITIC
The film is an impressively complicated and compassionate drama about shame and desire.
May 8, 2023 | Rating: 3/4
Ross McIndoe
Slant Magazine
TOP CRITIC
Remarkable, for filmmaker Laurel Parmet is symbolically using the Christian community for the wider world of patriarchy, female body shaming and dismissal of women’s desires. Must see for anyone wondering about the world around them … which is everyone.
May 19, 2023 | Rating: 5/5
Patrick McDonald
HollywoodChicago.com
Though frustratingly self-destructive, [Jem] perseveres, refusing to be defined by the rules of her church or the rules of this genre.
May 18, 2023
Peter Keough
Arts Fuse
The cast but especially Eliza Scanlen soar in this coming-of-age story salted with religious intrigue.
May 18, 2023 | Rating: B
Thom Ernst
Original Cin
Although a lot of the territory it covers is familiar, everything else about writer-director Laurel Parmet’s coming-of-age drama The Starling Girl is exceptional.
May 18, 2023 | Rating: 7/10
Andrew Parker
The Gate
It’s well done. Well acted and well written, but it’s still a Madame Bovary narrative.
May 18, 2023
Wade Major
FilmWeek (KPCC – NPR Los Angeles)
It’s very sensitively done, I like the lead actress a lot, and it presents the conflict without taking sides.
May 18, 2023
Andy Klein
FilmWeek (KPCC – NPR Los Angeles)…
Plot
Seventeen-year-old Jem Starling struggles with her faith and sexuality in a fundamentalist Christian community in rural Kentucky, and is drawn into a dangerous relationship with an enigmatic youth pastor.
Trivia
Goofs / Tidbits
NA
NA.jpg
