Very Good Girls (2013)

We watched this at home on DVD from our public library.It isn't a great movie but it has some interesting elements. The ages of the main actors were a bit disconcerting, Fanning was 18, Olsen was 23, and Holbrook was 31 during filming.Dakota Fanning is Lilly, good daughter, eldest of three, preparing to graduate and go off to Yale. Her parents are Psychiatrists, with offices in their home, they seem well-off. Lilly has a job, she is a guide for boat tours of the New York Harbor areas.Her best friend, almost like a sister, is Elizabeth Olsen as Gerri. At some point nearing the end of their senior year they discuss not wanting to graduate and go off to college still as virgins.While at the beach in the summer they encounter Boyd Holbrook as David, an aspiring photographic artist, operating an ice cream stand. The two friends talk to him, everyone goes on their way.As it turns out each girl makes contact again with David, but for most of the movie the other doesn't know about it. Lilly gets very involved, she and David sleep together often. Gerri lies about sleeping with David, it turns out he is faithful to Lilly but her doubts cause her to treat them badly.The summer is ending, David decides to head to Paris to pursue his photography, Lilly and Gerri make up, life goes on. Just a slice of life story, teenage girls trying to figure out adult life and where it may lead them.Not a bad movie but not particularly memorable.

Is it about the good girls? Looks like that way until the summer break before these two friends get going for the freshman year college. So they decide to lose their virginity, but they both fall for a same boy. Their's long standing friendship will be tested, the remaining film tells who lose the bet and how.Good cast, but the story was from the Lily's perspective that played by Dakota Fanning. The boy and Elizabeth Oslen were kind of in the support roles. A simple love triangle story, but the actings were good. 'Little Birds', 'Ginger & Rosa', 'Violet & Daisy', 'Ghost World', 'Thirteen' name it. This kind of two thick friends theme is quite popular, but mostly average ones like this.Well, it was not one of those movies of the year that I was expecting, so enjoyed what it provided in a limited scale. A few times I was annoyed too, for the turns in the narration, but the way it ended compromised my overall thought. This is a decent coming-of-age movie, which is not worth to suggest anyone openly, but you can give it a try if you get a shot.6½/10

Why would such a strong cast go for such a non-event script - trite dialogue, plain and even ridiculous plot? Except for Elizabeth Olsen, who appears to enjoy her role in a very natural believable way, the rest looked like they were dragged into it, and had to just hum reluctantly along with some 'forced acting'.Dakota Fanning is especially out-of-it, the first time I've seen her dazed and uncomfortable in a role she played in a very zombie manner - it was a total miscast at any rate.She needs a meatier role to be able to sink her teeth into. A simple lost youth in a silly lost script she is not, one as a virgin notwitshtanding.It is a B-grade movie with an A-grade cast. What a waste! I hope it's just a bad fluke for all concerned, and not because good roles in good movies are drying out for them.

I was expecting much more from this than I got when I finished watching it. Being a long time fan of Dakota Fanning, as I suspect her performances are far above the average from girls her age and especially from her era, I was very excited to see her in a more 'mature' type of movie. Well, I can't really say I was disappointed with the acting from the cast. I guess even that guy who played the street artist was o.k. but I was not satisfied with the development of the film. The movie was slow and then when it was almost finishing they threw it all at once and maybe it was a ~surprising~ ending once I wasn't expecting it but I was not pleased as I thought it rather silly, to be quite honest. They were dealing with an adult theme at first which requires an adult reaction from all of the circumstances dealt in the movie and then at the very ending of it they just decided to wrap it all up with a rather silly reaction from the characters so us 'the public/audience' would be happy and content. Just typically clichè Hollywood ending while I would have preferred a million times a more realistic type of closing I guess. And I just say so because this looks to me as an Indie film in which we generally get a more human response to human emotions played on screen (as well as in foreign films). Of course, I know the old saying 'you can't always get what you want' but I think it's unfair to the public if they promote the movie a certain way and the final result is completely different from that. I mean that even in what concerns the trailer, the poster, every single advertising thing they do. It just has to be fair to their final public otherwise you can't even trust the filmmakers anymore because they are obviously just thinking about an easy way to cash in at your expenses.I can't really give you more details because I'd have to tell you how it ends but watch it if you really feel like, it's NOT a complete waste of time because as I've said the characters are well portrayed by the whole cast and I can positively say now that I'll keep looking for more Dakota Fanning and Liz Olsen works in the future, they are far above the average and always deserving a much larger recognition for their roles in almost everything they do. 6/10