TEEN SPIRIT Trailer

Elle Fanning shoots for stardom in Teen Spirit, the directorial debut of Max Minghella.

Continuing the recent spate of music-infused films, the movie follows Fanning as she competes in a singing competition and tries to shed her reserved nature so her talent can shine. That means a ton of music performances from Fanning and the rest of the cast, and Minghella seems to have leaned on the high energy of electro-pop to keep these potentially repetitive segments from lagging. Robyn’s “Dancing On My Own” is covered in the trailer, and with more songs coming from the likes of Tegan and Sara and Annie Lennox, I’d say it’s about one La Roux track away from qualifying as a gay film by music alone.

Minghella, who has had a fruitful career as an actor, also wrote the script for Teen Spirit, which means it rests solely on his shoulders. The competition should give him a tried and true structure to work with, so he’s not entirely out on a limb his first time. Still, blending music performances into a narrative is no small task, especially when it comes to maintaining pace. He’ll need some solid backup to pull this off, and luckily he’s got a great lead performer in Elle Fanning.

What remains in question is Fanning’s singing skills, which haven’t really been displayed in the past. Overlaying the entire trailer with a decent cover is a good way to assuage fears, but only after the third or fourth performance will we know if she was really the right choice for the film. This is a risky movie but definitely an intriguing one.

Teen Spirit is directed by Max Minghella and stars Elle Fanning, Rebecca Hall, and Zlatko Buric. It will be released in the US on April 5th, 2019. For international release dates, click here.

Are you curious about Teen Spirit? Disappointed there’s not a whiff of Nirvana? Let us know in the comments!