The name Eliza Scanlen is still unknown to a lot of people, but if you saw her heartbreaking performance as Beth March in Greta Gerwig’s Little Women, you know it won’t be that way for long. But that wasn’t the only acclaimed role she had last year, or even the first. Shannon Murphy’s directorial debut Babyteeth, a story of unlikely lovers, saw Scanlen make waves at Venice and London, and next it’ll attempt to do the same in the U.S.
Babyteeth is based on the stageplay by screenwriter Rita Kalnejais, and stars Scanlen as a terminally-ill who falls crazy in love with a drug dealer, much to the chagrin of her parents. The cast includes Ben Mendelsohn, The Babadook‘s Essie Davis, and Toby Wallace as Scanlen’s lover. The film marks the debut feature for Shannon Murphy, a director on upcoming episodes of Killing Eve.
IFC Films will release Babyteeth on June 19th.
SYNOPSIS: When seriously ill teenager Milla (Eliza Scanlen) falls madly in love with small-time drug dealer Moses (Toby Wallace), it’s her parents’ (Essie Davis and Ben Mendelsohn) worst nightmare. But as Milla’s first brush with love brings her a renewed lust for life, traditional morals go out the window, leaving her parents wanting to hold tighter to their little girl. Milla soon teaches everyone in her orbit – her parents, Moses, a sensitive music teacher, a budding child violinist, and a disarmingly honest, pregnant neighbor – how to live like you have nothing to lose. What might have been a disaster for the Finlay family instead leads to letting go and finding grace in the glorious chaos of life. BABYTEETH joyously explores how good it is to be alive and how far we will go for love.
