The Spectacular Now

Two high school kids, a popular boy and a nerdy girl, a setup so often exploited by American films, rarely makes for truly exciting cinema. James Ponsoldt’s film, however,  is a treat: the iconic high school setting combined with the excellent cast, Sutter as interpreted by the skilled Miles Teller and Aimee Finicky played by the superb Shailene Woodley (The Descendants), work wonders in a movie that is  more bitter than most American films about teen angst. Ponsoldt also revisits the issue of alcoholism that he previously took on in Smashed. He avoids  moralizing or  diagnosing, opting instead for a view of a particularly difficult time of growing up so frequently examined by Gus van Sant. Directed with an unusually subtle touch, this film may join the  canon of coming-of-age stories.