Tanner Hall is centered on four girls in their last year of boarding school in New England as they are discovering themselves. Fernanda (Rooney Mara, Youth in Revolt) goes out of her comfort zone and starts an affair with a family friend. Kate (Brie Larson, Showtime’s United States of Tara) aggressively flirts with a teacher without any thought of consequence while Lucasta (Amy Ferguson, Garden State) is confused as she discovers her own sexuality. Victoria (Georgia King, One Day), jealous of the friendship of the three girls, desperately manipulates to garner their attention.
The directorial debut of Francesca Gregorini and Tatiana von Furstenberg (who also wrote and produced the film) is beautifully shot and has fantastic dialogue, however, with all the different story lines, only a few get enough attention to make the story whole.
I found Fernanda’s story to be very disturbing considering a 30-something man is having an affair with a girl he needs to sign out of boarding school. The way in which it’s portrayed almost seems to condone it as if it was destined to happen. No! The guy is a creep!
Kate’s flirtation with Mr Middlewood (Chris Kattan), her teacher, is interesting to see from her perspective, but I felt it was unnecessary to have all the backstory between him and his wife (played by Amy Sedaris). Sedaris and Kattan were very miscast as they brought too much of a comedic element. Their scenes were very out of place and were not needed to move the story along.
Lucasta’s story was the most well crafted. Handled with compassion and empathy, she could have had her own movie. Amg Ferguson shows an intense agony and internal struggle that you can’t help but want more of her character.
Victoria was by far the most interesting. I really enjoyed how her character is shown as a villian and a victim at virtually the same time. I didn’t know whether to hate her or pity her. She becomes the thread that weaves the girls together, pulling their strings.
So when does this story take place? I have no idea. I was wondering that throughout the entire film. The set and the wardrobe are combinations of all different decades put together. As you may have guessed, one of the directors, Tatiana von Furstenburg is the daughter of Diane von Furstenburg. Her designs were used for the film and it’s GORGEOUS. I understand the point the they were trying to convey that this story could take place in any decade, but I felt it distracted from the story trying to figure out exactly what year it could be.
At just about an hour and a half, it moves along rather well, but like I said before, there was so much going on, that it was hard to become emotionally attached. If nothing else, watch for the amazing wardrobe and sets. I’m no fashion queen and I certainly appreciated it.
Opens in limited release by Anchor Bay Films on September 9th, 2011, Rated R, 95 minutes.
http://www.tannerhallthefilm.com/
Rating: Nothing profound, but an easy watch for a casual day. 5/10
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