Many of the thrilling events in this film, where Jessica Burns, 16, fear her fear of sharing with anyone except her favorite friend Brian Slater. She tried suicide a lot but failed every time with Bryan's help and a hidden digital camera. The evidence of Avery's relentless harassment is finally shown and displayed, bringing girls and their families face to face with the truth.
Hunter King is believably despicable as the prototypical Mean Girl, but we DO feel empathy for Avery as she begins to realize the depths of the destruction she caused.
Screen It!
March 27, 2015
Should be required viewing in high schools around the nation to address this issue. (Full Content Review -- Sex, Profanity, Violence, etc. -- for Parents also available)
A Girl Like Her unfolds with a clear-eyed approach to the subject - a drama that fleshes out the principals and shows, without excusing the bully, that pain is not the exclusive domain of the victim.
Right off the bat you should know that A Girl Like Her is essentially an anti-bullying Public Service Announcement. If you go into the film knowing this, then it's easier to appreciate the good things that the movie has going for it.
The two young female leads, exceptionally well cast, deliver strong performances, and the drama benefits from Weber's interest in understanding rather than demonizing the bully.
Sometimes the heartfelt power of the message can help to compensate for some narrative rough patches. Such is the case with this drama that tries to put a fresh spin on the topic of teenage bullying.
Performed with unflinching honesty, it's a story that'll be familiar to countless teens, and the film could well have a long life as required, vivid viewing for high-schoolers, who'll have plenty to discuss after its poignant ending.
The narrative momentum quickly stalls out, as the story adds little to dynamics of high school bullying. The characters are two-dimensional at best, with dubious and paper-thin motivations.
A Girl Like Her goes for an ill-conceived blend of found footage and faux documentary that never works, while the script is rarely subtle and often shameless.
