FLOWER: Zoey Deutch Blossoms As A Teen Vigilante

In a world where Me Too and Times Up have taken over, attitudes towards sexual predators have shifted. Justice has begun to be served (very) slowly to perpetrators, and victims are no longer as afraid to speak out. In some instances, women have begun to take justice into their own hands.

Flower is a film, like many others, that capitalizes on the blossoming sexuality of a teenage girl – though in this case, Erica (Zoey Deutch) uses a special set of “skills” in order to ensnare sexual predators and milks them for everything in their bank accounts. However, Erica is faced with a new target when her troubled step-brother Luke (Joey Morgan) reveals some disturbing allegations from his past.

A Fine Line Between Female Empowerment and Exploitation

From beginning to end, Flower is a film that is steeped in controversy. Erica (a seventeen year-old girl) provides sexual favors to older men, and with the help of her friends, Claudine (Maya Eshet) and Kala (Dylan Gelula), blackmails the men for money. The trio splits the money, Erica deciding to put the funds towards bailing her absentee father out of prison. Erica chooses to describe herself as a vigilante, even though her actions are deep within the moral grey area.

Director Max Winkler and writers Matt Spicer and Alex McAulay have created an unconventional teen film for the new generation, but it still tiptoes on the line of empowering and exploitative. Zoey Deutch shines in her role as Erica, and proves she’s a versatile actress. Not unlike characters such as Lolita‘s Dolores “Lo” Haze (the 1997 version), and Thirteen‘s Evie Zamora, she’s an embodiment of the teen dream girl, charming, brash, emotionally immature, but with a sexual maturity far beyond her years. Characters like Erica, while complex and brave, still suffer from being subjected to male ideals.

Erica speaks of feminism and liberation, yet the camera’s treatment of her seems to counteract the fact. Erica constantly talks about her sexual conquests and logs them in a notebook. While Erica never appears completely naked, there is a lot of focus on her body and her physical interactions with the other characters. At the end of Flower, Erica’s newfound romance seems forced and feels cringe-worthy. If you ask me, it seems to counteract Erica’s attitude earlier in the film.

Take a further look into the moral gray area

Will Jordan (Adam Scott), Luke’s alleged molester, is Erica’s new target. Dubbed the “Hot Old Guy” by Erica and her friends, Will is pretty humanized even though he’s been accused of some heinous actions. Adam Scott’s attractiveness and non-threatening nature provide a certain likability factor that causes viewers to question his guiltiness – and even sympathize with him at certain points. Will and Erica develop a pretty good rapport, and there’s quite a bit of chemistry between them. Even after Will’s demise and the film’s conclusion, viewers and Erica are left asking – “Did Will actually deserve what happened to him?”

Was this intentional? Will represents a good portion of accused sexual predators that don’t seem like they would be “bad guys”. In fact, Will reminds me of a band teacher I knew from my high school – Teacher of the Year, well-liked by all his students. He was caught having a sexual relationship with one of his students. No one expected it – at all. There was more outrage over the teacher losing his job than the fact he was having a relationship with a minor.

Flower gives some insight into the different types of sexual predators.  Most of them are human, and have many different facades. It’s too bad that the film didn’t show any more of Will’s behavior. In the end, it’s promptly dismissed – not really giving the audience enough time to ponder the horrors that Will had committed.

Flower: A Dark Film Rooted With Comedy

Even though Flower centers around some pretty dark subject matter, it still manages to place humor throughout. The ending is bittersweet, and leaves audiences with lingering thoughts, not all pleasant thoughts though. One of the things to gain from Flower is that horrible things happen in life, but there is still humor to be found in it. Considering the circumstances, Flower still wrangles a fairy tale(ish) ending for Erica and Luke. Will gains his comeuppance and his accusers begin to speak out against him, Erica and Luke find love while avoiding harsh sentences and Erica’s mother (Kathryn Hahn) and her fiancé Bob (Tim Heidecker) stay together.

Well, the ending doesn’t seem to make a whole lot of sense in some aspects, but then again life often doesn’t make any sense.

If you’ve seen Flower, what did you think of the ending? Is it what you expected? Tell us your thoughts in the comments below!

Flower was released in the US on March 16, 2018. For all international release dates, see here.