Refreshing time out of school

Almost every film that explore finishing high school is pretty forgettable, but Olivia Wilde’s first feature stands tall.

Beanie Feldstein and Kaitlyn Dever in Booksmart.

There have been dozens, if not hundreds, of comedy movies, most of them American, about the end of high school, that challenging time when the first two levels of education are in the past and young adults have the challenge of facing a world of independence and promise. Should they find a job? Go to university? Take a gap year? The possibilities are enticing and a bit alarming. Almost all of the films that explore this moment in a young person’s life are pretty forgettable, but Olivia Wilde’s first feature, Booksmart, stands tall among the rest. Scripted by four women writers, it feels authentic with its insights into the lives of its two protagonists. At the same time, it’s hilarious.

Much of its success must go down to the astute casting of Beanie Feldstein — the sister of actor-director Jonah Hill — and Kaitlyn Dever, who play inseparable best friends. They’ve worked hard at school, taken their studies seriously, and stayed away from the parties and romances enjoyed by their peers. And it’s paid off — Molly (Feldstein) has come top of her class and has won a place at Yale while Amy — who has come out as a lesbian but hasn’t actually had any kind of relationship yet — plans to spend the summer doing good works in Botswana before heading to Columbia.

It comes as a bit of a shock to Molly when she overhears some of her peers, in what appears to be a unisex toilet, talking about her. She realises that these kids, who she rather despised as lightweights, have actually done very well in their final exams; unlike her and Amy, they had fun and also achieved high marks.

Molly and Amy decide that they have to make the most of what time they have left to party — the trouble is, they’re not very good at enjoying themselves. They don’t even know where the hottest end-of-school celebration is taking place, nor do they have much of an idea what the with-it kids are wearing this year.

It turns out to be a night full of surprises for both Molly and Amy. That in itself is a change for two girls who thought they knew exactly what they wanted. For the audience, the attraction of Booksmart lies in the smart, witty — but fashionably foul — dialogue and the fact that not only the two main characters but everyone else in the movie is so adroitly cast and wittily scripted. Parents (played by Will Forte and Lisa Kudrow), teachers (Jessica Wil­liams, Jason Sudeikis) and other kids all come to life on the screen.

Yet the there’s something a little too benign about it all; the girls attend a school where the graffiti in the loo may be crude but there doesn’t seem to be any actual bullying, a school where the staff are rather closer to the kids than you’d expect — but in a (mostly) nice way, a world where adolescent fantasies come true and a noble, self-sacrificing gesture earns rewards despite expectations.

Most audiences won’t care too much about this bias towards “feel-good” because Booksmart is such a smart, funny, rude, cheerful, likeable movie. It’s well worth checking out, even if your school days are a distant memory.

Booksmart (MA15+) 4 stars

National release from Thursday

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FAMILY AFFAIRS IN FEUDAL VIETNAM

This visually lush film from Vietnam, “inspired by true events”, as the opening title advises, takes place in the country’s hinterland in the late 19th century. May (Nguyen Phuong Tra My), aged only 14, has been forced into an arranged marriage and arrives at a remote estate to be the third wife of landowner Hung (Long Le Vu).

May nervously approaches the night of her wedding and soon becomes pregnant, but after that she sees little of her husband, a ­remote figure who wields power through his minions. Life is pretty boring for the girl until she fancies herself in love with Ha (Tran Nu Yen-Khe), Hung’s No 1 wife.

A scene from The Third Wife.

Ha is in a strong position because she is mother to Han (Nguyen Thanh Tam), who is now old enough to be married to the daughter of a neighbouring landowner. But he’s in love with Xuan (Mai Thu Huong), the No 2 wife, who is out of favour because she has managed to provide her husband only with daughters.

In this feudal environment everyone, except the master, is obliged to obey the strict rules, though it soon becomes clear that there is plenty of subversion lurking just beneath the pristine ­surface.

The Third Wife positively shimmers with beautiful imagery, courtesy of cinematographer Chananun Chotrungroj. Sexual machinations unfold against the most luminously gorgeous backdrops while symbolic imagery abounds with numerous shots of chrysalises and larvae. In fact, the film is almost too beautiful.

Writer-director Ash Mayfair developed the project at Spike Lee’s Workshop, and the tone very much reflects a contemporary, post-#MeToo approach to the tragic story.

In Vietnam, there was much publicity about the fact that the young lead actress — who was 13 at the time of filming — was involved in such dark sexual themes, and the film had to be withdrawn from most cinemas. Nevertheless, and not surprisingly perhaps, it proved to be a great success. It’s certainly a curiosity for connoisseurs of Third World cinema.

The Third Wife (MA15+) 3.5 stars

Limited release

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AGE-OLD INFIDELITY

Ricardo Darin and Mercedes Moran are very popular actors in Argentina so it’s no surprise that An Unexpected Love — literally, The Least Thought Love — should have been a hit in that country. It’s a rom-com for empty nesters and though it contains no surprises, Juan Vera’s film is polished, occasionally astute and eminently watchable.

When their grown son, Luciano (Andres Gil), flies off to Spain to study, Marcos (Darin) and Ana (Moran) find their comfortable middle-class lifestyle suddenly upended. Deciding that the marriage has become stale (though they appear to be perfectly happy in one another’s company) they decide to separate. Each of them takes other lovers but — well, there are, as I said, no surprises here.

Their new relationships prove to be momentarily exciting but not enduring. Some are amusingly presented, while others are rather sad. Meanwhile their best friends, Edi (Luis Rubio) and Lili (Claudia Fontan) are experiencing even more dramatic ups and downs: Edi has a secret girlfriend for years and, when news of his infidelity inevitably reaches the ears of Lili, there’s hell to pay.

An Unexpected Love doesn’t take us anywhere new, except the demographic is older. This is in line with the trend towards making films for an older generation, given that very few “serious” films seem to be produced for anyone under 40 these days.

An Unexpected Love (El amor menos pensado) (M) 3 stars

Limited national release