The Edge of Seventeen

The Edge of Seventeen is a 2016 American coming-of-age comedy-drama film written and directed by Kelly Fremon Craig. The film stars Hailee Steinfeld, Woody Harrelson, Kyra Sedgwick, and Haley Lu Richardson. Principal photography began on October 21, 2015, in Vancouver and ended on December 3, 2015.

The film premiered at the 2016 Toronto International Film Festival on September 16, 2016, and was theatrically released on November 18, 2016, by STXfilms. It received positive reviews, with Steinfeld's performance being critically lauded, and grossed over $18 million.

Plot
Nadine Franklin, a seventeen-year-old high school junior in the suburbs of Portland, has tempestuous relationships with her popular older brother Darian and her image conscious mother Mona, and only felt close to her father Tom. Tom died of a heart attack when Nadine was thirteen, leaving her best friend Krista the only person keeping her buoyed.

At Nadine's home, Nadine and Krista get drunk while Darian throws a pool party. Nadine falls asleep and Krista goes downstairs and talks to Darian. The next morning Nadine finds Krista giving a handjob to a naked Darian in bed, straining their friendship. The next day they run into each other at school and Darian asks Krista to be his girlfriend. Nadine feels desperately alone and turns to her classmate Erwin Kim, who has a crush on her, though Nadine is attracted to older student Nick Mossman.

Darian invites Krista to a house party, who insists Nadine join. There, Krista is introduced to other students, leaving Nadine on her own. After failed attempts at mingling, Nadine sits outside with another partygoer, who remarks how inferior Nadine seems compared to her brother, and Nadine leaves the party. She invites Erwin to an amusement park, where his attempt to kiss her is rejected. They still finish their date, and at the end of the night Nadine tells him he is a great guy and they become close friends.

At school, Krista confronts Nadine for ignoring her, and Nadine tells her that Darian does not care about her and will soon drop her, to which Krista retorts by saying he asked her to be his girlfriend and to prom, which is months away. Nadine makes her choose between herself and Darian. Krista does not want to choose, and Nadine angrily ends their friendship.

Mr. Bruner becomes Nadine's source of support at school and he admits that she is his favorite student. Nadine has become lost due to not seeing Krista and one night Erwin calls Nadine who hangs up on him. Nadine calls him back soon after and invites herself to go swimming in his pool, much to his excitement. Nadine learns that he is rich after showing up to his house and that he is an animation filmmaker and accepts his invitation to their school's short-film festival.

Driving to school, Mona and Nadine have a fight that leads to Mona bringing Nadine with her to work. There, they argue about her father, and Nadine steals Mona's car and drives away. She writes a sexually explicit text to Nick, and accidentally sends it when trying to delete it.

Nadine confides in Mr. Bruner she is going to kill herself, and he tries to reassure her. She receives a reply from Nick asking her to hang out. Mona calls Darian, telling him that Nadine is missing and Darian leaves to find her. On their date, Nick repeatedly attempts to have sex with Nadine in his car. Embarrassed and heartbroken, Nadine runs away and calls Mr. Bruner, who drives her to his house where they wait with his wife and infant son until Darian arrives. Darian tells Nadine that he has been suffering from the pressures of taking care of the family in their father’s place. Darian confesses that he feels trapped and did not apply to colleges far away since the only person who makes him happy is Krista. Nadine confesses her own feelings of self-hatred, intensified by her envy of Darian. They hug, ending their feud.

As Nadine leaves for the film festival, she is met by Darian and Krista; the friends reconcile and agree to catch up later. Realizing that Mona is still worried she has run away, Nadine texts her that she is safe, and Mona decides to trust her word. Erwin's animated film is revealed to be a story about an alien boy who falls in love with a girl at high school but is rejected. Nadine apologizes to Erwin for taking so long to accept his love. Erwin is congratulated by his colleagues, and introduces Nadine, who greets them with a smile, finally opening up to others.

Production
In 2011, screenwriter Kelly Fremon Craig sent a copy of her screenplay, Besties, to producer James L. Brooks, hoping that Brooks would produce the film. Craig recalled, "I had written a spec version of this film, and had been just an insane fan of Jim's for years and years. He was the crazy longshot I took in the beginning! And one I never thought would actually work. But I sent him the script and he ended up taking on the project." The Edge of Seventeen is Craig's director debut. She also produced the film.

On August 4, 2015, Hailee Steinfeld was cast in the film to play the lead role, while Richard Sakai was also attached as a producer of the film. On September 24, 2015, Woody Harrelson and Kyra Sedgwick joined the film's cast, with Harrelson playing the role of a high school teacher and Sedgwick as the main character's mother. On October 6, 2015, Blake Jenner was cast in the film as Nadine's older brother, a popular and handsome soccer player who begins dating Nadine's best friend Krista. Hayden Szeto was cast in the film as Erwin Kim, Nadine's earnest classmate, who fumbles several attempts to win her affection through much of the story. Haley Lu Richardson joined the film to play the role of best friend Krista.

Principal photography on the film began on October 21, 2015, in Hollywood North, then in Anaheim, California. Filming also took place in the Metro Vancouver area, then at Guildford Park Secondary School and near Guildford Town Centre in Surrey, British Columbia. Port Moody was also shown, with the film festival taking place in City Hall. Filming wrapped on December 3, 2015.

Release
The Edge of Seventeen, distributed by STX Entertainment, was originally scheduled to be released on September 30, 2016, before being moved to November 18. Stage 6 Films and Sony Pictures Releasing International handle some distribution rights to the film outside the United States.

Home media
The film was released on Blu-Ray and DVD by Universal Home Entertainment on February 14, 2017.

Box office
The Edge of Seventeen grossed $14.4 million in the United States and Canada and $4.4 million in other territories for a total of $18.8 million, against a production budget of $9 million.

In North America, the film was released alongside the openings of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them and Bleed for This, as well as the wide expansions of Moonlight and Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk, and was initially expected to gross around $8 million from 1,900 theaters. However, after grossing $1.8 million on its first day, weekend projections were lowered to $4–5 million; it ended up opening with $4.8 million, finishing number seven at the box office.

Critical response
On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 94% based on 199 reviews, with an average rating of 7.9/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "The Edge of Seventeen's sharp script – and Hailee Steinfeld's outstanding lead performance – make this more than just another coming-of-age dramedy." On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 77 out of 100, based on 38 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews". Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A-" on an A+ to F scale.

Spin-off
In May 2018, it was announced that YouTube Premium began development for a spin-off web series based on the film that will be exclusive to their platform. Annabel Oakes is penning the pilot, while Fremon Craig will executive produce the series.