Sunday, 2 August 2020

How To Build a Girl (2019 Coky Giedroyc)

Autobiographical story and screenplay from Caitlin Moran tells of precocious teen's adventures writing for the music press in the 1990s, growing up. (Has a hint of Almost Famous to it.) Beanie Feldstein - Jonah Hill's little sister - is great in the lead, accompanied by family Paddy Considine, Sarah Solemani and Laurie Kynaston. Alfie Allen is the sweet rock star she betrays (his dialogue is great). (We keep seeing him in things and not recognising him, a tribute to his chameleon-like powers.)

Of the pictures on the wall that come to life, Q got Mel and Sue, but there's also Alexei Sayle (Marx), Michael Sheen (Freud), Gemma Arterton (Julie Andrews), Lily Allen (Elizabeth Taylor) and Lucy Punch (Sylvia Plath). With Chris O'Dowd, Emma Thompson, Joanna Scanlon.

Photographed by Hubert Taczanowski (Quiz, Strike, The Missing).

Beanie was invited to audition in London whilst appearing on Broadway in Bette Midler's revival of 'Hello Dolly'. Then she worked in a Wolverhampton gift shop for three weeks in order to try to nail the accent - it's a bit variable, but not bad. She met her partner Bonnie who was one of the film's producers. The elder Feldstein  brother Jordan died of a blot clot aged 40.

Seems to be rather unfairly critiqued on IMDB.

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