Babyteeth
Starring: Eliza Scanlen, Toby Wallace, Ben Mendelsohn, Essie Davis
Directed By: Shannon Murphy
Rated: R
The coming-of-age cancer film has been done many times in recent years. From The Fault in Our Stars to A Walk to Remember to Me, Earl and The Dying Girl; it's not like the genre is lacking in choices. However, it does tend to stick to stereotypical cliches. Babyteeth brings a new perspective to the sub-genre that forgoes the typical romance for the messy realities and raw honesty of life and death.
In the film, 16-year-old cancer-stricken Milla Finlay lives with her psychiatrist father and depressed mother. One day, she meets Moses in a chance encounter at a train station. He's a 23-year-old drug addict with tattoos and a rat tail, just what every parent dreams their daughter will bring home. He has nowhere to go since his family kicked him out. So Milla invites him back for dinner. Her parents are less than amused with the situation. Despite their disapproval, the two continue to see each other. Although he's troubled, Moses is a charismatic ball of energy (thanks to an excellent performance by Toby Wallace) who brings out a joy in Milla that seemed to have disappeared long ago. Despite her parent's best efforts to keep them apart, they ultimately fail. The film asks the difficult questions of how one can parent a terminally ill teenager. And how does that teenager come to terms with the end of life at just 16?
Director Shannon Murphy captures a whirlwind of emotions in Babyteeth. The title comes from the fact that Milla still has one of her baby teeth even though she's 16 (something that is considered an anomaly.) This one tooth serves as great symbolism for Milla, barely hanging on to her adolescence. As the film progresses, her illness and relationship with Moses toss her into a tumultuous ride that signals a loss of innocence.
Murphy's style is heavily focused on pivotal moments and feelings. Most scenes are broken up by title cards that signal what's about to happen to the characters. The film hazily wanders in and out through days of Milla's life. One particular party scene is electric and emotional, making the audience feel as if they're right there in the center of the party watching Milla experience freedom. The music in the film is utilized wonderfully, accompanying the mood of each scene in just the right way. The plot could be tightened up a bit, but it feels like we are viewing a significant chapter in the Finlay family's life.
Eliza Scanlen and Toby Wallace in Babyteeth: Photo Courtesy of IFC Films
While I find Babyteeth's overall style and vision to be very effective, I will say that the core relationship is slightly troublesome. A 23-year-old man in a relationship with a 16-year-old girl is messed up. Considering it's a fictional story, how hard would it be to have Milla be 18? The story would still pack an emotional punch. That being said, Babyteeth portrays their relationship as tumultuous and deeply complex. This isn't the clichè star-crossed romantic tragedy taken from the pages of a Nicholas Sparks novel. It's something darker. Milla continually wonders if Moses is actually interested in her or if he hangs around because he can gain access to prescription drugs through her father. There are highs and lows to their relationship with a strong sense of dysfunction sitting right in the center.
Eliza Scanlen has proven her excellent acting ability in supporting roles in Sharp Objects and Little Women, but now it's her turn to be the lead. She carries the film as Milla with substantial emotional depth. Milla tries to live her life as a typical 16-year-old, but cancer is a constant reminder that normalcy isn't in the cards for her. The film doesn't treat her as a perfect person, but a layered character who is trying to live as much as she can while balancing the unsteady ground she treads.
Ben Mendelsohn and Essie Davis give great supporting performances as Henry and Anna, Milla's parents. Henry is a psychiatrist who tries to prevent every problem with medication. Anna pops pills all day to deal with the emotional trauma of her daughter's diagnosis. Through the span of the film, the two see that they have to accept and feel what life throws at them instead of self-medicating.
Babyteeth is a raw and moving film that tackles the triumphs of life and tragedy of death through the lens of one family caught right in the middle of the chaos.
My Rating: 7/10
Babyteeth is now available to rent on iTunes and Amazon Prime.