Get wrapped up in the masterful nostalgia of ‘Eighth Grade’

Bo Burnham’s directorial debut, “Eighth Grade,” has recently received a wide release after being relegated to only a few select theaters. This charming coming-of-age story explores the life of Kayla Day, a girl entering the final days of her disastrous eighth grade year and getting ready for high school, while dealing with the crazy world of adolescence around her.

“Eighth Grade” is certainly a simple film in concept, but the efforts put in to tell its story and understand its characters are simply brilliant. Just about everything in this film works wonders for a bevy of reasons.

Burnham directs the film with a pristine level of authenticity that stays intact throughout. Every second onscreen pulls you back into those moments during middle school and it can be remarkably subtle about it. The film never feels like it is trying to go over-the-top just for the sake of entertainment.

This is thanks to the masterful filmmaking that Burnham employs to help the audience — both to get immersed in this environment and understand the characters. The cinematography feels appropriately shaky at times with some clever uses of depth of field, and the sound design is utilized ingeniously along with it. Both elements work together to allow us to see through Day’s eyes and to feel the constant unease that she is going through. Similarly, the film uses skillful editing and transitions to help us get further sucked into this world.

The film’s various themes are ones we’ve heard before, but feel fresh in the way they’re executed. Messages of self-confidence, being yourself and the role technology plays in the lives of our youth today are all explored. They are done perfectly with the use of Day’s YouTube vlog’s presenting these themes and showing the events in her life.

The performances are all top notch. Elise Fisher brings Day to life with a complex, multi-layered and relatable performance. Her character presents different personalities depending if she is interacting with her father, her small YouTube channel or people at her school — and Fisher nails each one. Her imperfect yet determined ways are what make her so lovable, and it will legitimately leave you on the edge of your seat wondering how her next social situation will crash and burn.  Josh Hamilton as her father is also perfectly awkward and likable, while the rest of the cast around her feels so real that you could swear they just placed Fisher in an actual middle school and started filming.

It’s quite fitting that one of the film’s first scenes involve a time capsule because regardless of when you grew up, this movie will feel like one. “Eighth Grade” could have very easily been a simply told story with some funny awkward moments for people to relate to. But the amount of effort put in brings us back to those days immersing us with these characters, which is something worth applauding. Everyone is sure to take away something that will remind them of themselves or someone they knew during that time. This is one of the best films of the year and one not to miss.