... engrossing and never patronizing, something many coming of age films about teenage girls often fall into.

It won't dazzle anyone with its originality. But it's a sturdy, carefully wrought calling card with considerable feeling for its wounded subjects, and that's not nothing.

There's a melancholy to it that's rare in such tales, and despite the high drama of some scenes, it always feels fresh and natural. You'd be a fool to miss it.

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