Stop me if you’ve been here before: In the midst of your darkest battles — with life, with love, with family, with friends, with school, or with your job — you dropped down to your knees, clasped your hands together, bowed your head, and pleaded into the abyss for God, any god, to intervene in your life.
If you know this feeling (I know I have) or if you’re a card-carrying member of the Judy Blume fan club, this experience will be no stranger to you.
Are You There God? It's Me Margaret., the sophomore film from director/writer Kelly Fremon Craig (The Edge of Seventeen), is an adaptation of Blume’s 1970 YA novel of the same name. It follows 6th grader Margaret (played by Abby Ryder Fortson, Ant-Man) as her parents (played by Rachel McAdams, Mean Girls and Benny Safdie, co-director of Uncut Gems) upend her idyllic New York adolescence for a fresh start in the New Jersey suburbs. Margaret immediately finds a group of friends and a crush, but also a ballooning sense of angst around her lack of breast size and periods.
The expert cast is excellent; it’s led by Fortson, McAdams, and Safdie, and rounded out by Kathy Bates (American Horror Story), Echo Kellum (Grand Crew), Elle Graham, Amari Price, and Katherine Kupferer. McAdams, in particular, delivers one of her finest performances. We’ve seen her transition from playing a teenager to a young woman, and now for the first time, a mother. Margaret is also a breakout role for Fortson.
In addition to her adolescent angst, Margaret faces an identity crisis. Her father is Jewish and her mother was raised as a Christian; though she no longer practices after falling out with her conservative parents over marrying a Jew. Still, Margaret finds herself calling out to God for guidance and smooth sailing through the changes. Fremon Craig’s adaptation of Blume’s work takes complicated themes of religion and religiosity and makes them relatable to anyone.
Fremon Craig, in a short time, has perfected the coming-of-age film. Critics lauded The Edge of Seventeen (currently streaming on TBS/TNT) in 2016 as a more realistic “growing up” story than those told by John Hughes in the 80s’ heyday of teen dramas. Her latest effort similarly captures the essence of navigating life as a girl moving towards young womanhood. Margaret and her friends chant to grow breasts, gossip about classmates, dream about kissing boys, and sneak into their parents' private book collections; don’t tell Ron DeSantis about the anatomy book they read.
What I appreciate most about Are You There God? It's Me Margaret. is the care Fremon Craig takes to subtly depict the cultural differences of some of the characters. As she’s preparing for a fancy birthday party, Margaret’s Black friend Janie Loomis (Price in her feature film debut), lays across the kitchen sink to get her hair washed by her mother and then scolded to sit straight as the mom straightens it with a hot comb. It’s a small detail, one many audience members will either miss or fail to understand, but adds to the film’s authenticity in a way many movies with predominantly white casts do not.
Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret. is an unexpected breath of fresh air. Earnest in its delivery, without being too preachy or prescriptive, it truly is a movie tailor-made for the entire family. But don’t take my word for it, see it for yourself!
Will you watch it?