Superhero Universe
  • Entertainment
    Stefon Bristol, Spike Lee Team for ‘Gordon Hemingway’ at Netflix

    Stefon Bristol, Spike Lee Team for ‘Gordon Hemingway’ at Netflix

    ‘Halt and Catch Fire’ Co-Creator Teams with Vault Comics for Cosmic Hero ‘The Blue Flame’ (Exclusive)

    ‘Halt and Catch Fire’ Co-Creator Teams with Vault Comics for Cosmic Hero ‘The Blue Flame’ (Exclusive)

    Roy Thomas, Former Marvel Editor, Pushes Back on New Stan Lee Biography (Guest Column)

    Roy Thomas, Former Marvel Editor, Pushes Back on New Stan Lee Biography (Guest Column)

    Tom Holland Is Tight Lipped on Tobey Maguire, Andrew Garfield Cameos in ‘Spider-Man’: “It Would Be a Miracle If They Kept That From Me”

    Tom Holland Is Tight Lipped on Tobey Maguire, Andrew Garfield Cameos in ‘Spider-Man’: “It Would Be a Miracle If They Kept That From Me”

    Kerry Washington, Charlize Theron Joins Paul Feig Netflix Movie ‘School for Good and Evil’

    Kerry Washington, Charlize Theron Joins Paul Feig Netflix Movie ‘School for Good and Evil’

    Tom Hardy, Gareth Evans Team for Netflix Crime Thriller ‘Havoc’

    Tom Hardy, Gareth Evans Team for Netflix Crime Thriller ‘Havoc’

    Brittany Snow Joins Kid Cudi, Jenna Ortega in Ti West Horror Thriller ‘X’ (Exclusive)

    Brittany Snow Joins Kid Cudi, Jenna Ortega in Ti West Horror Thriller ‘X’ (Exclusive)

  • Games
    Oddworld: Soulstorm Comes To PS5, PS4, And PC April 6; PS5 Version Will Be Free For PS Plus

    Oddworld: Soulstorm Comes To PS5, PS4, And PC April 6; PS5 Version Will Be Free For PS Plus

    Five Nights At Freddy’s: Security Breach Gets Tense New Gameplay Trailer

    Five Nights At Freddy’s: Security Breach Gets Tense New Gameplay Trailer

    Nintendo Switch Pro Will Feature Nvidia DLSS, 4K Functionality And Upgrade For Portable Mode – Rumor

    Nintendo Switch Pro Will Feature Nvidia DLSS, 4K Functionality And Upgrade For Portable Mode – Rumor

    Call Of Duty: Black Ops Cold War Showcases Zombies Outbreak In Latest Trailer

    Call Of Duty: Black Ops Cold War Showcases Zombies Outbreak In Latest Trailer

    Overwatch 2 BlizzCon Update Highlights New Maps, Hero Talents, Missions, And More

    Overwatch 2 BlizzCon Update Highlights New Maps, Hero Talents, Missions, And More

    Street Fighter’s Chun-Li And Ryu Coming To Fortnite Soon

    Street Fighter’s Chun-Li And Ryu Coming To Fortnite Soon

    Diablo 4 – Rogue Specializations and World Groups Revealed

    Diablo 4 – Rogue Specializations and World Groups Revealed

  • Science

    Six and a Half Months in Orbit: Junk Food and Sublime Moments

    Six and a Half Months in Orbit: Junk Food and Sublime Moments

    NASA Snags Its First Asteroid Sample

    NASA Snags Its First Asteroid Sample

    The Bold Plan to See Continents and Oceans on Another Earth

    The Bold Plan to See Continents and Oceans on Another Earth

    Here’s How Scientists Mapped the Perseverance Rover’s Landing Site

    Here’s How Scientists Mapped the Perseverance Rover’s Landing Site

    People. Passion. Planets.

    People. Passion. Planets.

  • Tech

    How You Need to SEO Audit to Tighten Up Your Blog Performance

    High-Quality Content Can Improve SEO Ranking. How?

    High-Quality Content Can Improve SEO Ranking. How?

    Why Will Bitcoin Reach New Heights in 2021?

    Why Will Bitcoin Reach New Heights in 2021?

    Things to Take Care When Watching Movies Online

    Things to Take Care When Watching Movies Online

    Top 6 Ways Email Marketing is Changing with AI

    Why is a Wi-Fi Guest Network a Great Idea?

    Why is a Wi-Fi Guest Network a Great Idea?

    How the Google Nest Wi-Fi Point and Router is Your Best Friend for 2021

    How the Google Nest Wi-Fi Point and Router is Your Best Friend for 2021

  • Travel
    • Paris
    • Spain
    • New York
    • Singapore
    • Tokyo
  • Videos
  • Reviews
    I Care A Lot will make you worry about your grandparents (and Peter Dinklage)

    I Care A Lot will make you worry about your grandparents (and Peter Dinklage)

    For All Mankind season 2 shows how much prestige drama TV is changing

    For All Mankind season 2 shows how much prestige drama TV is changing

    The CW’s Superman & Lois finds a new way to solve The Superman Problem

    The CW’s Superman & Lois finds a new way to solve The Superman Problem

    qomp review: the best Pong cinematic universe of 2021

    qomp review: the best Pong cinematic universe of 2021

    The superhero squirrel is the dullest part of Disney’s superhero-squirrel movie

    The superhero squirrel is the dullest part of Disney’s superhero-squirrel movie

    Nomadland is about the breathtaking journey, not the destination

    Nomadland is about the breathtaking journey, not the destination

    Judas and the Black Messiah frames its powerful story around the wrong people

    Judas and the Black Messiah frames its powerful story around the wrong people

No Result
View All Result
Superhero Universe
  • Entertainment
    Stefon Bristol, Spike Lee Team for ‘Gordon Hemingway’ at Netflix

    Stefon Bristol, Spike Lee Team for ‘Gordon Hemingway’ at Netflix

    ‘Halt and Catch Fire’ Co-Creator Teams with Vault Comics for Cosmic Hero ‘The Blue Flame’ (Exclusive)

    ‘Halt and Catch Fire’ Co-Creator Teams with Vault Comics for Cosmic Hero ‘The Blue Flame’ (Exclusive)

    Roy Thomas, Former Marvel Editor, Pushes Back on New Stan Lee Biography (Guest Column)

    Roy Thomas, Former Marvel Editor, Pushes Back on New Stan Lee Biography (Guest Column)

    Tom Holland Is Tight Lipped on Tobey Maguire, Andrew Garfield Cameos in ‘Spider-Man’: “It Would Be a Miracle If They Kept That From Me”

    Tom Holland Is Tight Lipped on Tobey Maguire, Andrew Garfield Cameos in ‘Spider-Man’: “It Would Be a Miracle If They Kept That From Me”

    Kerry Washington, Charlize Theron Joins Paul Feig Netflix Movie ‘School for Good and Evil’

    Kerry Washington, Charlize Theron Joins Paul Feig Netflix Movie ‘School for Good and Evil’

    Tom Hardy, Gareth Evans Team for Netflix Crime Thriller ‘Havoc’

    Tom Hardy, Gareth Evans Team for Netflix Crime Thriller ‘Havoc’

    Brittany Snow Joins Kid Cudi, Jenna Ortega in Ti West Horror Thriller ‘X’ (Exclusive)

    Brittany Snow Joins Kid Cudi, Jenna Ortega in Ti West Horror Thriller ‘X’ (Exclusive)

  • Games
    Oddworld: Soulstorm Comes To PS5, PS4, And PC April 6; PS5 Version Will Be Free For PS Plus

    Oddworld: Soulstorm Comes To PS5, PS4, And PC April 6; PS5 Version Will Be Free For PS Plus

    Five Nights At Freddy’s: Security Breach Gets Tense New Gameplay Trailer

    Five Nights At Freddy’s: Security Breach Gets Tense New Gameplay Trailer

    Nintendo Switch Pro Will Feature Nvidia DLSS, 4K Functionality And Upgrade For Portable Mode – Rumor

    Nintendo Switch Pro Will Feature Nvidia DLSS, 4K Functionality And Upgrade For Portable Mode – Rumor

    Call Of Duty: Black Ops Cold War Showcases Zombies Outbreak In Latest Trailer

    Call Of Duty: Black Ops Cold War Showcases Zombies Outbreak In Latest Trailer

    Overwatch 2 BlizzCon Update Highlights New Maps, Hero Talents, Missions, And More

    Overwatch 2 BlizzCon Update Highlights New Maps, Hero Talents, Missions, And More

    Street Fighter’s Chun-Li And Ryu Coming To Fortnite Soon

    Street Fighter’s Chun-Li And Ryu Coming To Fortnite Soon

    Diablo 4 – Rogue Specializations and World Groups Revealed

    Diablo 4 – Rogue Specializations and World Groups Revealed

  • Science

    Six and a Half Months in Orbit: Junk Food and Sublime Moments

    Six and a Half Months in Orbit: Junk Food and Sublime Moments

    NASA Snags Its First Asteroid Sample

    NASA Snags Its First Asteroid Sample

    The Bold Plan to See Continents and Oceans on Another Earth

    The Bold Plan to See Continents and Oceans on Another Earth

    Here’s How Scientists Mapped the Perseverance Rover’s Landing Site

    Here’s How Scientists Mapped the Perseverance Rover’s Landing Site

    People. Passion. Planets.

    People. Passion. Planets.

  • Tech

    How You Need to SEO Audit to Tighten Up Your Blog Performance

    High-Quality Content Can Improve SEO Ranking. How?

    High-Quality Content Can Improve SEO Ranking. How?

    Why Will Bitcoin Reach New Heights in 2021?

    Why Will Bitcoin Reach New Heights in 2021?

    Things to Take Care When Watching Movies Online

    Things to Take Care When Watching Movies Online

    Top 6 Ways Email Marketing is Changing with AI

    Why is a Wi-Fi Guest Network a Great Idea?

    Why is a Wi-Fi Guest Network a Great Idea?

    How the Google Nest Wi-Fi Point and Router is Your Best Friend for 2021

    How the Google Nest Wi-Fi Point and Router is Your Best Friend for 2021

  • Travel
    • Paris
    • Spain
    • New York
    • Singapore
    • Tokyo
  • Videos
  • Reviews
    I Care A Lot will make you worry about your grandparents (and Peter Dinklage)

    I Care A Lot will make you worry about your grandparents (and Peter Dinklage)

    For All Mankind season 2 shows how much prestige drama TV is changing

    For All Mankind season 2 shows how much prestige drama TV is changing

    The CW’s Superman & Lois finds a new way to solve The Superman Problem

    The CW’s Superman & Lois finds a new way to solve The Superman Problem

    qomp review: the best Pong cinematic universe of 2021

    qomp review: the best Pong cinematic universe of 2021

    The superhero squirrel is the dullest part of Disney’s superhero-squirrel movie

    The superhero squirrel is the dullest part of Disney’s superhero-squirrel movie

    Nomadland is about the breathtaking journey, not the destination

    Nomadland is about the breathtaking journey, not the destination

    Judas and the Black Messiah frames its powerful story around the wrong people

    Judas and the Black Messiah frames its powerful story around the wrong people

No Result
View All Result
Superhero Universe
No Result
View All Result

Babyteeth is a teen cancer drama that’s actually good

by
21 June, 2020
in Reviews
3.8k 78
0
Babyteeth is a teen cancer drama that’s actually good
1.6k
SHARES
12.5k
VIEWS
Share on FacebookShare on TwitterPin it
1200x627 Get More Done, Together
ADVERTISEMENT

Terminal teens have become fairly common in contemporary young-adult romances, from The Fault in Our Stars (Shailene Woodley has cancer, falls in love with Ansel Elgort), to Me and Earl and the Dying Girl (Olivia Cooke has leukemia, falls in love with Thomas Mann), to Five Feet Apart (Haley Lu Richardson and Cole Sprouse both have cystic fibrosis, fall in love with each other). Some movies, like Me and Earl, handle terminal illness thoughtfully, but many others use it solely as a gimmick, romanticizing death and ignoring the actual difficulties of sickness.

So Babyteeth, directed by Shannon Murphy in her feature debut, is a breath of fresh air for the subgenre. The film, which stars Eliza Scanlen as a teenager with an unspecified form of cancer, hits some predictable beats, but Rita Kalnejais’ script (based on her stage play of the same name) and Murphy’s directorial voice make the story seem brand new.

a young woman and a young man look at each other

Eliza Scanlen and Toby Wallace in Babyteeth.
Photo: IFC Films

The movie’s opening scene sets the tone for everything that follows: 16-year-old Milla (Scanlen) silently considers suicide. As she stands in a train station, waiting for the train home from school, she stares down at the tracks, contemplating stepping in front of the next train to arrive. She’s only shaken out of her reverie when Moses (Toby Wallace), a tall, tattooed, rat-tailed young man resembling a taller version of Shia LaBeouf’s American Honey character, accidentally barrels into her. It’s immediately clear he’s a chaotic force: when her nose starts bleeding, he wrestles her to the ground to take care of her, taking off his shirt and using it to mop up the blood. Immediately afterward, he asks her for money, then refuses to take anything, because the one bill she has is too much. His confidence and fearlessness make him attractive to Milla, but also make it difficult to tell why he’s interested in her. He’s 23, but Milla never seems to question their difference in age. As their relationship progresses, though, everyone else around them does wonder: Is he just taking advantage of her?

Babyteeth’s story chapters are denoted through occasional text on the screen (“When Milla brought Moses home to meet her parents,” “Love,” etc.). They’re the movie’s most heavy-handed element, but they’re excusable because the rest of the film is so subtly made. Nobody delivers exposition. Characters don’t say more than they need to. The audience is expected to put the pieces together on their own. The lack of narrative hand-holding helps the film feel more real, and waters down the Tumblr-ready aesthetic of the chapter titles.

That insistence on keeping dialogue relatively spare rather than overtly walking the audience through the story makes the more stereotypical beats feel less labored than they might otherwise. (Like Moses running away because the stress of taking care of Milla becomes overwhelming, for instance, or Milla dealing with the change in how people see her after she begins wearing a wig.) Cinematographer Andrew Commis uses a handheld camera to catch characters either in extreme close-ups, or with swathes of negative space around them. He lends the proceedings a sense of immediacy, especially as faces weave in and out of the frame, putting the focus on the timbre of the dialogue and on body language.

a family sit around a table

Essie Davis, Toby Wallace, Eliza Scanlen, and Ben Mendelsohn in Babyteeth.
Photo: IFC Films

Scanlen is magnificent, channeling Milla’s frustration into her sometimes-demonic expressions, and her physicality, as, in a fit of anger, Milla writhes like someone possessed. Rather than demurely accepting her death and becoming someone for everyone else to project upon, Milla does her best to defy her failing body, sometimes even staring directly into the camera, directing her rage at the viewer, too.

Circling nervously around the two of them are Milla’s parents, Henry (Ben Mendelsohn) and Anna (Essie Davis), who don’t know what to make of Moses, but more importantly, don’t know how to deal with Milla’s progressing illness. Babyteeth bucks yet another storytelling convention by having Milla’s parents be just as adrift as she is, rather than having them around solely to deliver platitudes about moving on and treasuring what life you have. They’re already reckoning with grief, and how best to live normal lives with the specter of Milla’s death looming over them.

Most of the film sees the four characters together, emphasizing both familial and romantic love even when Milla and Moses are most prominently in the spotlight. Their budding relationship is the film’s ostensible plot, but there’s no sense that it’s all leading to some grand, romantic denouement. Instead, the focus is domestic, as Murphy and Kalnejais spend most of their time fleshing out the little family and the way their lives intertwine. There’s no overarching moral or saccharine point; by exploring these characters’ lives as truthfully as possible instead of focusing on Milla’s cancer, they make Babyteeth into the most powerful cancer movie in recent memory.

Babyteeth will be available on VOD beginning June 19.


Previous Post

Valorant review: The stripped-down, skill-based shooter that’s only getting started

Next Post

Nintendo Will Show Super Smash Bros. Ultimate's Arms Character Next Week

Related Posts

I Care A Lot will make you worry about your grandparents (and Peter Dinklage)
Reviews

I Care A Lot will make you worry about your grandparents (and Peter Dinklage)

25 February, 2021
For All Mankind season 2 shows how much prestige drama TV is changing
Reviews

For All Mankind season 2 shows how much prestige drama TV is changing

25 February, 2021
The CW’s Superman & Lois finds a new way to solve The Superman Problem
Reviews

The CW’s Superman & Lois finds a new way to solve The Superman Problem

25 February, 2021
qomp review: the best Pong cinematic universe of 2021
Reviews

qomp review: the best Pong cinematic universe of 2021

21 February, 2021
The superhero squirrel is the dullest part of Disney’s superhero-squirrel movie
Reviews

The superhero squirrel is the dullest part of Disney’s superhero-squirrel movie

21 February, 2021
Nomadland is about the breathtaking journey, not the destination
Reviews

Nomadland is about the breathtaking journey, not the destination

21 February, 2021
Next Post
Nintendo Will Show Super Smash Bros. Ultimate’s Arms Character Next Week

Nintendo Will Show Super Smash Bros. Ultimate's Arms Character Next Week

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

  • Trending
  • Comments
  • Latest
‘Big Country’ Brings Western Noir to Comics

‘Big Country’ Brings Western Noir to Comics

25 November, 2019
How organisations can prevent external eavesdropping and influence through electromagnetic emissions

How organisations can prevent external eavesdropping and influence through electromagnetic emissions

28 October, 2019
The State of Planetary Defense

The State of Planetary Defense

28 October, 2019
Chatbots

Healthcare and Technology: How RPA Improves Healthcare Efficiency

4 November, 2019
Oddworld: Soulstorm Comes To PS5, PS4, And PC April 6; PS5 Version Will Be Free For PS Plus

Oddworld: Soulstorm Comes To PS5, PS4, And PC April 6; PS5 Version Will Be Free For PS Plus

0

0

0

0
Oddworld: Soulstorm Comes To PS5, PS4, And PC April 6; PS5 Version Will Be Free For PS Plus

Oddworld: Soulstorm Comes To PS5, PS4, And PC April 6; PS5 Version Will Be Free For PS Plus

26 February, 2021
Five Nights At Freddy’s: Security Breach Gets Tense New Gameplay Trailer

Five Nights At Freddy’s: Security Breach Gets Tense New Gameplay Trailer

26 February, 2021
I Care A Lot will make you worry about your grandparents (and Peter Dinklage)

I Care A Lot will make you worry about your grandparents (and Peter Dinklage)

25 February, 2021
For All Mankind season 2 shows how much prestige drama TV is changing

For All Mankind season 2 shows how much prestige drama TV is changing

25 February, 2021

Recommended

Oddworld: Soulstorm Comes To PS5, PS4, And PC April 6; PS5 Version Will Be Free For PS Plus

Oddworld: Soulstorm Comes To PS5, PS4, And PC April 6; PS5 Version Will Be Free For PS Plus

26 February, 2021
Five Nights At Freddy’s: Security Breach Gets Tense New Gameplay Trailer

Five Nights At Freddy’s: Security Breach Gets Tense New Gameplay Trailer

26 February, 2021
I Care A Lot will make you worry about your grandparents (and Peter Dinklage)

I Care A Lot will make you worry about your grandparents (and Peter Dinklage)

25 February, 2021
For All Mankind season 2 shows how much prestige drama TV is changing

For All Mankind season 2 shows how much prestige drama TV is changing

25 February, 2021

About Us

Get the latest news and reviews on games, science, technology, and entertainment

Categories

  • Entertainment
  • Games
  • New York
  • Paris
  • Reviews
  • Science
  • Singapore
  • Spain
  • Tech
  • Tokyo
  • Travel
  • Uncategorized
  • Video
No Result
View All Result
  • Entertainment
  • Games
  • Science
  • Tech
  • Travel
    • Paris
    • Spain
    • New York
    • Singapore
    • Tokyo
  • Videos
  • Reviews

© 2019 SuperheroUniverse.com

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Fill the forms bellow to register

All fields are required. Log In

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In