Every time the film teeters on the precipice of a generic plot point it satisfyingly withdraws into more subtle and nuanced territory that ultimately coalesces in a final act that is sentimental without being sugary.
This adaptation of Tim Tharp's novel, directed with delicate restraint by James Ponsoldt, sneaks up on you. It makes you laugh, then it breaks your heart.
t's a coming-of-age-slash-first-love story, with beguiling leads, a frank, bittersweet script, a lived-in, rustic setting (the outskirts of Athens, Georgia), an intense awareness of class difference and a mood that's all its own.
There are scenes, moments, and dialogue in this film that ring so true that it all comes rushing back, a flood of memories and emotions and a little bit of pain.