Enjoy Eshaan M.'s review of Everybody's Talking About Jamie
92Enjoy Eshaan M.'s review of Everybody's Talking About Jamie. A glittery, glamor-filled, unique and entertaining film, everyone is bound to be talking about Everybody’s Talking About Jamie! The musical numbers, the classic plotline of a teen finding their place in the world, and lovely messages of having confidence in yourself and following your passion all make this production an especially fun watch. However, some directorial choices might cause you to divert your attention from what’s happening on screen.
The film follows Jamie New (Max Harwood), a gay 16-year-old boy from Sheffield, England, whose secret dream is to become a drag queen. His mom, Margaret (Sarah Lancashire), as well as his best friend and fellow outcast Pritti Pasha (Lauren Patel) support him, but his absentee father (Ralph Ineson), homophobic bully Dean Paxton (Samuel Bottomley) and future-focused career’s teacher Ms. Hedge (Sharon Horgan) all seem to be against Jamie. Mentored by former drag queen and current shopkeeper Hugo Battersby (Richard E. Grant), a.k.a. Loco Chanelle, Jamie embarks on a journey to discover his true identity, tearing down boundaries and burying toxic relationships along the way.
Max Harwood brings viewers along on his emotion-packed hero’s journey; he certainly steals the show. Besides Harwood, though, Lancashire’s portrayal of Margaret captures all of the motherly emotion that a sentimental coming-of-age story needs. The care between the two is palpable. Jonathan Buttrell makes his silver-screen directorial debut with this film, and his technique of capturing emotion is superb. Unfortunately, lighting, camera angles and focal choices leads to some distraction in some compelling moments. The score of the film, as with the musical version, is superb, but the sheer number of songs and usage of varied background tracks causes the film to drag as it nears the end. Nevertheless, the music is undoubtedly the highest point of the film.
Everybody’s Talking About Jamie promotes acceptance, following your dreams and never being afraid to take a risk. There is some mild profanity in the film.
I give Everybody’s Talking About Jamie 4 out of 5 stars and recommend it for ages 13 to 18, plus adults. Everybody’s Talking About Jamie is available on Amazon Prime Video beginning September 17, 2021. Go check it out! https://youtu.be/jAeG5Mizffc
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