In yet another directorial debut from a comedian this year, A24 once again delivers with the raw and emotional Mid90s. This film is brilliantly written and directed and contains so many great performances and character arcs. At its surface, Mid90s comes off as a more grungy and crude take on the coming-of-age genre, but the story behind the character of Stevie and his transition through his childhood in Los Angeles is much deeper than that. This film explores lots of different concepts of growing up while giving the audience an amazing story to follow along with.
Jonah Hill's writing and directing in this film is absolutely superb. He set out to capture the essence of skater culture in the '90s along with his own personal experiences growing up and he does just that. You can tell when an artist puts his entire heart, soul, and being into a piece of his art and that is what I felt during this entire movie. The representation of skater culture of that era is distinctly accurate and the entire environment of this film was built very well. This also had to do with the fact that this movie was shot on film and had a 4:3 aspect ratio, giving it a "home-movie" feel. This technique worked brilliantly as it was paired with one of the characters' ambitions to become a filmmaker, constantly carrying around a flip camera and recording everything the friend group did. The soundtrack of this film was relevant to the time as well and helped to further along the story. The editing in this film was utilized creatively too. Many shots lingered on characters for a long time, providing that authentic room for emotion through their dialogue. Also, a simple technique that will always draw me in is cutting to the beat. So you can guess how entertained I was during the party scene in the kitchen when the shots changed with the funkiness of the song. Even though this film is a relatively quick watch at an hour and 24 minutes, the story was jam-packed with wildly engaging character development and interesting plot.
The most incredible writing in this film happens in the developing relationships between the characters. Stevie (Sunny Suljic) is a young kid who admires a group of skater friends from a distance, eventually finding his way into the group and beginning to change immensely. Suljic was astounding in this role as he truly embodied the essence of naive childhood turning into rebellion. In a way, he represents many children of the '80s who began to question authority and turn against their parents and families. Stevie's transition into a completely different person was so interesting to watch, if not also a bit depressing. Seeing how he began to smoke, drink, and distance himself from the people he loved was quite sad and led to some intensely emotional scenes. Especially in the car between Stevie and his mom Dabney (Katherine Waterston), I could not help but shrivel up as he treated his own mother so cruelly.
Stevie's family and new friends also paved the story for some great moments. To me, the standout character was Ray, played by Na-kel Smith. His character was amazing and was the guiding light for Stevie's childhood journey. He was there to prove to Stevie that he did not need to fall under peer pressure by smoking and drinking in order to fit in. Ray was such an outstanding role model in this film and I really appreciated his character; I only wish he could have been used a bit more. The best moment regarding his friends in this movie was when Stevie was in the hospital after the car crash and his mother came out to see the entire group asleep in the lobby, waiting to check in on him. At that moment, the audience could tell that his mother realized how much they cared about him and it was such a sweet, defining scene. The most well-written relationship, however, is between Stevie and his brother Ian, played by Lucas Hedges. Hedges was extraordinary as his role and he showed so much emotion throughout the movie, as he obviously cared about Stevie and his wellbeing. Even though his actions seem to present him as the stereotypical, bully figure of a brother, you could tell through Hedges' simple acting in some heartbreaking scenes that there was nothing but love.
Jonah Hill joins the list of comedians who have recently proven themselves to be incredible filmmakers. Mid90s is a beautiful tale of growing up told through the lens of a punky little skater boy and the struggles that come with his environment. Whatever algorithm A24 is using to crank out this pure art, they need to keep it coming.
My Rating: ★★★★
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