Powerfully tragic.
I got emotional a few times watching this. The film did a great job portraying Greta as a kid. It’s really a crazy circumstance if you just zoom out for a second. You have to remind yourself that this middle school girl is standing up against the most daunting problem of our era and being constantly met with devastating inaction. You have to remind yourself that she is doing this during a period in her life when, I think we can all agree, people should not be leading movements and educating political figures. She just wants to study at school, plan a marriage someday, and play with her badass dogs, but she can’t.
This film is very balanced in how it showcases her crucial message and movement, but also in how it shows the innocence and childhood she is sacrificing by leading this crusade. A crusade she never wanted to, and should never have needed to take up in the first place. I thought the film painted a very authentic portrait of Greta and her fathers’ relationship. It portrayed both the struggles and devastating disappointments just as much as the growing movement and support. The cinematography had some really great moments, using negative space to isolate the characters in the more tense situations. I thought the pacing was…actually. You know what? I’m going to stop now.
The last thing Greta would want for this film is a glowing review.
The last thing she would want is your platitudes or your admiration for how plucky and determined she is. The last thing she would want is the condescending pats on the head while we continue to sit on our hands. The sheer fact that this 30 year, existential, planetary call to action is being answered by a ****ing 15 year old schoolgirl, is almost as inspirational as it is deeply tragic. This film is an indictment on every single adult. Save your compliments and keep your lip service, there is no use for it. This film clearly lays out that the next generation, and those to come after it, demand ACTION. The policy solutions are out there, we just need to do it. There is always more that I can do, and I intend to.
P.S. just for context. When I was 15, I was still pretending my one car garage was a secret spy headquarters and the only “UN” in my life was my UserName, which was unfortunately Lixmabawls89
