YES,GOD,YES
The coming-of-age teen movie gets a theological spin in writer/director Karen Maine's amiably frank comedy. Catholic high-schooler Alice (Stranger Things's Natalia Dyer) has internalised all the doctrines about sexuality, shame and her body - until a shock online encounter rouses a few unfamiliar thoughts. Her sexual awakening coincides with a nasty rumour spread by her righteous peers, which leads Alice to a religious getaway weekend. With a performance that is alternately hilarious and heartbreaking, Dyer carries nearly every shot in this clearly personal film, and she and Maine effortlessly capture Alice's identifiable uncertainty surrounding her body and mind. Meanwhile, Timothy Simons proves a compelling sparring partner as the on pious priest with a few temptations of his own. Sadly, the rest of the cast often resort to clichés, while Maine's script has a tendency towards pat observations. Still, the engagement with the Church's strictures and hypocrisies proves fascinating, and Maine's downbeat tone makes Alice's brief journey genuinely moving.
