The Starling Girl

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The Starling Girl

R

2023

1h 56m

Drama

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

92%

Tomatometer

90 Reviews

96%

Popcornmeter

500+ Ratings

Seventeen-year-old Jem Starling struggles to define her place within her fundamentalist Christian community in rural Kentucky. Even her greatest joy of dancing with the church group is tempered by worry that her actions are sinful and she is caught between a burgeoning awareness of her own sexuality and her religious devotion. With the return of Owen, an enigmatic youth pastor, Jem soon finds herself attracted to his worldliness and charm. Slowly, he draws her into a dangerous relationship that could upend their entire community.

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Critics Consensus

Sensitively and intelligently crafted by writer-director Laurel Parmet, The Starling Girl is a well-told coming-of-age story centering around a young woman's struggles with her spiritual faith.

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Jenny Nulf

Austin Chronicle

Nov 17, 2023

3.5/5

The Starling Girl’s thoughtfulness and lingering optimism toward a story that is predictably sorrowful is a necessary balance.

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Monica Castillo

RogerEbert.com

May 24, 2023

3.5/4

“The Starling Girl” lives and breathes through Scanlen’s stellar performance.

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Glenn Kenny

Boston Globe

May 19, 2023

3/4

Laurel Parmet makes a striking, assured feature directorial debut with “The Starling Girl,” which serves double duty in solidifying Eliza Scanlen’s already pretty solid reputation as a young actor worth watching.

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David Bax

Battleship Pretension

Oct 2, 2024

The Starling Girl‘s most direct criticism of these fundamentalists is that they are far less concerned with living according to Christian teaching and philosophy than with appearing to do so in a kind of ongoing intracommunity competition.

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Sarah Vincent

Sarah G Vincent Views

May 25, 2024

Watching “The Starling Girl” is scarier than watching any horror movie.

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Kristian M. Lin

Fort Worth Weekly

Mar 18, 2024

Laurel Parmet’s low-budget drama features yet another terrific performance from Eliza Scanlen...

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Chris

Jun 14, 2023

It's an interesting teen drama that is well made. Tackles issues with relationships, religion, and parenthood with a fresh perspective. Love that it sort of pokes holes in each issue and leaves it up to you to draw conclusions.

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Gregory

May 29, 2023

The Starling Girl was a poignant come-of-age story that was at times, sweet and tender, but also hard-driven and suspenseful. Compellingly directed by Laurel Parmet, (The Edge of Seventeen) The Starling Girl at its core, is a story of innocence lost. The Starlings are a very devout Christian family with a disconnected mother and a reformed but weak alcoholic father trying to raise two young daughters in a deeply Christian environment in rural Kentucky. The oldest daughter Jem, masterfully played by Eliza Scanlen, is seventeen and is tortured by her attraction to Owen an older and adult married man. She struggles to contain her feelings and sexual urges, but ultimately fails to control her temptations and falls emotionally and sexually for Owen. I won't go beyond that plot line but I will say that it is Eliza that drives the movie toward its fitting climax with her masterful performance of teen angst and desire vs inherent goodness and godliness. Watching her performance, you can see and feel her torment and conflict as she fails to control her sexual impulses against a rearing of very strict and devoted Christian values. This compelling movie is well-written and competently acted, but it's the amazing performance of Eliza Scanlen that stands out as does the touching and nuanced direction of Laurel Parmet. A tale of innocence lost masterfully told and highly recommended.

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Carlos E. Diaz

May 29, 2023

Fantastic movie well put together

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Ghederick Eshmont

May 27, 2023

Eliza Scanlen roars in a slightly bloated Southern Gothic family tale.

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Roy J

May 25, 2023

Kept my attention throughout

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Stephen T

May 20, 2023

incredibly cast, believable, well-told real life story

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Laurel Parmet

Director

Eliza Scanlen

Jem Starling

Lewis Pullman

Owen Taylor

Jimmi Simpson

Paul Starling

Wrenn Schmidt

Heidi Starling

Claire Elizabeth Green

Rebecca Starling

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Synopsis

Seventeen-year-old Jem Starling struggles to define her place within her fundamentalist Christian community in rural Kentucky. Even her greatest joy of dancing with the church group is tempered by worry that her actions are sinful and she is caught between a burgeoning awareness of her own sexuality and her religious devotion. With the return of Owen, an enigmatic youth pastor, Jem soon finds herself attracted to his worldliness and charm. Slowly, he draws her into a dangerous relationship that could upend their entire community.

Director: Laurel Parmet
Producer: Kevin Rowe, Kara Durrett
Screenwriter: Laurel Parmet
Distributor: Bleecker Street
Production Co: Sons of Rigor Films, 2AM, Pinky Promise
Rating: R
Genre: Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): May 12, 2023, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Jul 11, 2023
Box Office (Gross USA): $158.3K
Runtime: 1h 56m

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