Are you there, God? It’s me, Margaret (Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret) came to HBO Max like just another movie and its title, for those who don’t know the book, may sound like a religious story. Yes, religion is present, but it is not the central theme of this beautiful film about a girl entering adolescence. But for many viewers, the title is not something new, because it is based on a novel of enormous popularity.
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It is a book of Judy Blume published in 1970. At the beginning of her career, the author dedicated herself to writing texts about the problems and challenges of growing up. This feature film is based on her first book and Blume herself is the producer of the project. The script and direction are by Kelly Fremon. The combination of talent achieves a product of absolute authenticity. It is not necessary to be a young teenager from the 70s to realize the intelligent and knowledgeable look at the conflicts that the premise raises.
Margaret Simon (Abby Ryder Fortson) is an eleven-year-old girl who lives with her parents (Rachel McAdams and Benny Safdie) in Manhattan, New York. When her father’s job requires them to move to New Jersey, the girl, who is also entering adolescence, will face new challenges as she changes friends and begins a different life at a new school. Left behind her is her grandmother Sylvia (Kathy Bates), which adds further anguish to the setbacks of the new home. But the title is far from being a drama and deals with all these themes with a lot of humor, aiming more at emotion than at a dramatic low blow.
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The film takes a tender and understanding look at the topics covered, looking without darkness or remorse at the good and bad of that important period in a person’s life. The actors are perfect and the protagonist’s three friends, played by Elle Graham, Amari Alexis Price and Katherine Mallen Kupferer, confirm that in addition to great actor direction, the film also has perfect casting. There are not so many elements that seem to come into play for a production like this, but nevertheless, the result is a complex mix of sophistication, depth and humanism that most feature films fail to convey with the quality seen here.
The comedy Are you there, God? It’s me, Margaret Is available in HBO Max.