Eighteen-year-old Elliott, played by Maisy Stella, loves her family and friends, but she can't wait to leave her tiny hometown and her family's cranberry farm in rural Ontario. In just three weeks, she heads off to the University of Toronto, and she can't wait for her real life to start. Elliott and her two best friends, Ruthie and Ro, go camping one night on an island (where they live, on a series of lakes, they get around mostly by boat). In a last hurrah, Ro has secured some hallucinogenic mushrooms. They each take them around the campfire, and the other two girls seem to be enjoying themselves, while Elliott thinks nothing's happening for her. Then her 39-year-old self, played by Aubrey Plaza, appears next to her on the log. The two of them talk long into the night, and though older Elliott doesn't want to mess anything up, when pressed by young Elliott, she finally gives her some advice and adds a cryptic warning. That encounter (and others that follow) changes Elliott's immediate life in ways she never could have imagined.
We both loved this coming-of-age movie! Yes, it's an odd premise (Aubrey kind of specializes in quirky), but it is executed perfectly. The cast is great, especially Maisy Stella as young Elliott, the writing is top-notch, and the cinematography is wonderful. The setting was so gorgeous that I looked up where it was filmed: Muskoka Lakes, Ontario. It is billed as a comedy, and we both laughed plenty throughout the movie, but at the end, we were both crying (in a good way). It's beautiful, funny, heartwarming, and moving. Highly recommended (so much so that I felt compelled to review it after saying I wasn't going to write any more movie reviews!).
Currently available on Amazon Prime.
I'm grinning again just watching the trailer!
I've seen promos for this but wasn't compelled enough to check it out, but your review makes me want to watch it for sure!
ReplyDeleteWe both enjoyed it!
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