Eliza Scanlen is only 24 years old, and yet she has quietly already established herself as one of today’s finest actors. She’s already past the “rising star” stage, thanks to a string of great performances in a series of projects, from her breakout in HBO’s Sharp Objects, to her film debut in Babyteeth, followed by Little Women, The Devil All the Time, and Old. A remarkable run. And this year at Sundance she had one of the buzziest films of the festival with The Starling Girl.
Directed and written by Laurel Parmet, who did extensive research and drew from her own experiences, The Starling Girl centers on a 17-year-old girl in a fundamentalist Christian community as she tries to find her place in the Church, while also being tempted by her charismatic youth pastor, played by Lewis Pullman.
You can probably already see that this is going to be a touch watch for some audiences, as its themes could hit very close to home. Our writer Cortland Jacoby praised the film while also acknowledging that it felt a little familiar.
Bleecker Street has high hopes for The Starling Girl, which opens on May 12th.
7-year-old Jem Starling struggles with her place within her Christian fundamentalist community, but everything changes when she finds herself drawn to her magnetic youth pastor, Owen.
Taking on patriarchal religion, substance abuse, and topics like grooming, THE STARLING GIRL is ultimately about a struggle for liberation and growing up in the church, but its themes will undoubtedly resonate with people—particularly women – who have experienced oppression in their upbringings.
