Your Definitive Guide to Coming of Age Films
It probably says an awful lot about me that one of my absolute favourite genres is coming-of-age. It’s constantly evolving with the times, always trying to tell the stories of people, as they are, right now. They bring all sorts of relatable characters and personal problems to the fore in ways that many other genres cannot precisely because they are so focused in on their characters’ lives.
Boiling the genre down to one objective ”best of coming-of-age” list is near-impossible; each film documents and tells a unique, deeply personal story, and whether or not a character’s personal story resonates with you will determine whether you enjoy and engage with a coming-of-age film or not.
I have purposefully tried to choose a range of stories that different people will enjoy. However, when you are working in a genre this expansive, even that is quite difficult. At only twenty-three, I’ve definitely still got plenty growing up to do myself, and I also haven’t had all the times in the world to watch every coming-of-age film out there. Nevertheless, here’s a handful of some of the best the genre has to offer.
Lady Bird
Greta Gerwig’s semi-autobiographical coming-of-age tale provides a female counterpart to seminal films in the same genre such as Boyhood. We follow Christine McPherson (Saoirse Ronan, on top form) across her last year at a Catholic high school in California. Christine is, by all accounts, a prickly, difficult teenage daughter, with an indomitable spirit, marking herself out as special by giving herself the name “Lady Bird”. She struggles through multiple difficult relationships both with rubbish boys and her own family and friends, dying to escape to the East Coast “where culture is” She wants to make her own mark on the world, no matter how many people she upsets in the process.
This is a complex mother-daughter relationship that is constantly up and down, with one always just out of reach of the other. When Lady Bird and her domineering mother Marion (played wonderfully by Laurie Metcalf) do see eye-to-eye, these moments are truly heart-warming. However, when they don’t, you could reach out and cut the air with a knife, resulting in Lady Bird’s father Larry (Tracy Letts) having to find a way to bridge the gap between them. Their confrontations are hurtful because they feel relatable; every family has its problems, and this is just a clash of personalities that has been waiting to bubble over.
Lady Bird is ultimately a film about reconciliation. Family life always has its problems, and they are all spelled out in Gerwig’s wonderful family drama. Lady Bird will make you laugh, cry and cringe at one point or another, and perfectly charts Christine’s final year at home before she goes out to join the big wide world.
Booksmart
Booksmart is a refreshing, raucous teen comedy that deserves more attention than it already received last year. Olivia Wilde’s directorial debut is a wonderful, deeply entertaining look at two goody-two-shoes girls who, on their last day of high school, decide to have one night where they finally cut loose like everyone else.
In a genre which is so popular and full of life, Beanie Feldstein and Kaitlyn Dever are perfect partners in crime who just exude chemistry together. Feldstein’s Molly is a pretentious class president who assures best friend Amy (Dever) that she does not care what people think about her, whilst Amy slowly comes to terms with how she feels about her overbearing friend.
The comedy comes from how these two fishes out-of-water desperately try to navigate a series of high school graduation parties, despite knowing next to nothing about any of their peers save for their own prejudices. Ultimately, the film’s arc is predictable, but that does not matter; their relationship and how they bounce off one another is what carries the film at all times.
Despite doing well on awards circuits, Booksmart did not make all that much of a splash when it released in 2019. There has not been as original a spin on the coming-of-age genre in a long time, and certainly not one as full or charm in a long time. Booksmart is now one of my favourite comedies. It stays funny no matter how many times you watch it, so next time you need to laugh, watch two perfect students cut loose.
Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse
You might be a little confused seeing an animated superhero movie on a coming-of-age movie list, but just hear me out.
Being an origin story, Into the Spider-Verse is ostensibly a film about preparing to be the person you need to be in life. Enter Miles Morales, an extremely gifted child plucked from his comfortable home life and placed in an unfamiliar school he is desperate to leave. Into the Spider-Verse is distinct from practically any other comic book movie because it is so grounded in Miles’ life; he is only able to become his version of Spider-Man by coming to terms with his personal life.
He is forced to reconcile with his father, try and make friends in his new school, take control of his outlandish powers and come to terms with the inevitable loss of a loved one that is intrinsic to launching your superhero career. Miles is precocious, but funny and charming throughout. He brings his own flair and personality to a mantle that has been inhabited by so many other characters and marks himself out perfectly.
The best part? It’s not just Miles who grows into his new powers; every other Spider-Man/Woman/Animated Pig who he works alongside gains a newfound respect for Morales’ endless optimism by the end of the film, as well as learning a lot about themselves in the process. What could have been a hyper-stylized comic book action flick is always a film that is emotionally rich, motivating and comforting all at once. Essential viewing.
Ferris Bueller’s Day Off
John Hughes was a master of the coming-of-age genre, producing genre-defining classics. Ferris Bueller’s Day Off is just one of those classics. John Hughes’ 1986 iconic slacker comedy is an uber-entertaining joy ride.
The day is full of possibilities, and Bueller wants nothing else but to enjoy everything other than another day at school. He drags two of his friends along with him for a fun-filled day in and around Chicago.
Matthew Broderick’s melodramatic, snarky protagonist is uber-charismatic. His fourth-wall break are legendary, emulated in both cinema and elsewhere, for good reason. His know-it-all is an upstart but never mean-spirited, out to make a few memories with his friends and encourage them to always look for the fun in life. As Ferris himself reminds us, “life moves pretty fast.”
This is pure, unadulterated escapism distilled into one of the liveliest comedies ever put to screen, which all the while hides a much more charming moral at its core. Sure, its primarily an exercise in wish fulfilment, and sure, it casts practically every adult in the world as a bumbling fool who only exists to get in the way of our fun, but who cares?
Ferris Bueller’s Day Off exists to keep that teen rebellious spirit alive, even after you are supposed to abandon it and make peace with being part of the working world. Along the way, Ferris’ best friend Cameron matures, learning amongst other things how to accept responsibility for his actions. That rebellious spirit therefore nurtures some real emotional growth. So, maybe it isn’t quite so bad to want to kick back every once in a while, just to stop and smell the roses…
The Breakfast Club
Remember what I said about John Hughes? Yeah, here he is again.
The Breakfast Club is essential viewing if you are yet to see it. To anyone who’s ever been preyed on by, or belonged to, a high school clique, there’s someone in this particular Saturday morning detention that you’ll instantly identify with.
The affectionately nicknamed group of misfits called the “Brat Pack” are given perhaps the most literal task a coming-of-age film could ask anyone to do: they have to write an essay that explains exactly “who they think they are”. Assistant Principal Vernon might have meant this as a punishment that forces the kids to reflect on what they’ve done, but instead it leads to so much more.
Chaotic, low-stakes antics inevitably ensue. In their brief time together, the kids break down the barriers between one another and come to learn that their interests do not separate them as much as they thought. They’ve all got some sort of familial issue and come to lean on one another for support instead, and the silly fun blends with moments of explosive, confessional and deeply personal drama about each of their lives effortlessly.
The central message of The Breakfast Club is sincere and simple; never be afraid to be who you are, and never judge anyone else because of who they are. Trite though it may be, this is a perfect moral to take away from a coming-of-age movie, and just one of many reasons why this is a timeless classic of cinema. Despite being 35 years old, everyone can still relate to the pressure of being a teenager, no matter where they are from.
Moonlight
Barry Jenkins’ Moonlight is an enchanting, artistic journey through the life of one black, gay protagonist. Across three distinct periods of his journey to adulthood, we gain complete access to his innermost thoughts, and learn all about the many struggles he faces in his life.
Chiron grows up in a world that does not understand him, all the while he struggles to completely comprehend who he is too. Lacking any stable role models in his life, he desperately searches for anyone who he can trust as an example. The performances on display will draw you in so fiercely that you will likely forget you are even watching a movie. Everyone gives a stellar performance, and it completely deserves more even more attention.
The film’s form is just as beautiful. Camera and sound choices have clear purposes, placing you right in the middle of the drama unfolding before you rather than keeping you at arms’ length. WE feel claustrophobically close to everything happening, enhancing every emotion and action between characters. This is not artistic, inventive film just to show off, but a film with a real distinct purpose, disrupting the formulaic approach to depicting black urban life with sweeping cameras and classical music.
The fact that Moonlight investigates so many things and yet veers so far away from any sense of stereotype just speaks to how much of a masterpiece it truly is. Practically every scene feels honest, intimate and heart-breaking. Chiron, more than anything else, wants to be loved, by someone, and that urge burns at the heart of this film as he navigates so many of the problems that he faces in life.
Written by Martin Shore
Martin Shore is a recent English Graduate who’s been managing a bar for the past year. He has been writing his own film blog and for whatculture.com for a couple years, and is about to commence a part-time master’s degree in Film Studies this September.