Ah, the not so glamorous teenage years  perfectly portrayed in the new movie “Edge of 17” in theaters now.

The movie starts out talking about how completely happy and normal Nadine’s life is. Then when her father and she are driving back from picking up fast food one night, he has a heart attack. From there, Nadine’s life just isn’t the same. Her mother goes crazy; her older brother has to pick up the family, and Nadine, well, Nadine falls into depression. A few years pass, and Nadine is still struggling. It gets worse when she realizes her brother and best friend are dating; she completely breaks down and goes to her teacher for guidance. On top of that, she accidentally sends a rather raunchy text to her crush that leads to a bad hang out session.

Nadine, played by Hailee Steinfeld, is experiencing life on the edge–not ‘edge’ as in the alternative word for ‘cool,’ but literally the edge. Whether she wakes up the next morning or not. Many teenagers have experienced this at some point in their lives, and the movie perfectly portrays how teenagers think.  When Nadine finds herself barely hanging on, she feels she does not really know anyone. She does push through, and comes out stronger.

The characters cast in this movie are realistic, and Hailee Steinfeld fit the role of a dramatic teen perfectly.

Not many movies truly capture depression and anxiety like this movie does. Usually it is romanticized or shown as this terrible thing, but in ‘Edge of 17,’ the writers got it right.

Being 17 is hard.  I know.  I’m 17.  Trying to fit in, find love and true friends is really draining. This movie is definitely a must see for all ages, but especially high school students.