After seeing Agnes Bruckner's memorable performance in "Rick" (a modern re-imagining of the opera "Rigoletto"), I had to see what else she has starred in. Even better was her performance in this film "Blue Car", a coming-of-age film that boldly crosses boundaries that mainstream Hollywood wouldn't dare touch.I'm not just talking about the scandalous older guy & young girl theme which has been done before ("American Beauty", "Lolita", and almost every Woody Allen movie ever made), but in particular I'm referring to disturbing issues teenagers and kids face today: self-harm, self-mutilation and suicidal thoughts. Don't worry, there's nothing explicit. But the fact that these issues are even presented sets this movie on a different level.Other rare & unheard-of films that touch on these modern teen problems are "Archie's Final Project" (about a high school kid who decides to videotape his last days before killing himself), "Angela" (about 2 young sisters who create a fantasy world of angels & demons to cope with their real life traumas), and the very dark & very creepy "Tideland" about a young girl who creates a nightmarish world around her to try to protect her corroding innocence.. "Blue Car" fits right in there, probably the tamest of the bunch but not without its own hard-hitting moments. I think it would be appreciated by most mid-to-late teenagers whose minds are asking deep questions about life. I'm way past that age, but I still found it compelling and impressive all around. An excellent starring debut by Agnes Bruckner as well as directorial debut from Karen Moncrieff.

Karen Moncrieff's understated film, 'Blue Car', tells the story of a mildly disaffected teenager; as she drifts through the world, never quite belonging, I was reminded of 'Ghost World', although this movie lacks that film's more stylised feel. The story has one Hollywood moment (albeit in a muted form) when she reads a hastily written, highly personal poem in a public competition; in fact, the shards of poetry present in this film are good enough to bear the symbolic weight put upon them by the plot. Yet I was left with the feeling that this is somehow half a story, and that, by underplaying everything, the director can't do much more than tell us her lead character is sad - in 'Ghost World', the vaguely surreal backdrop provided some contrast that is lacking here. The performances aren't bad, however, and the soundtrack features some pretty but predictable folky-style songs.

I haven't watched a movie in weeks and last night I was working on the computer when this movie came on TV. I started watching out of the corner of my eye but ended up becoming engrossed! The movie unfolds like a leonard cohen song... I wouldn't describe it as a tragedy, in-spite of all the tragedy that occurs in it... I would describe this as a journey movie or self discovery movie... or maybe just a movie about poetry.The plot is, i think, deliberately, predictable. The teacher's brilliant acting hints at his intentions from the very start... yet he is never portrayed as a predator until the brilliantly disturbing sex scene, where for a few seconds he looses all trace of humanity! The ending to the movie is positive and the movies subtleties kept unravelling long after I turned off the TV There are a lot of great things in the movie... in fact I think its worth watching for the poetry alone!

It's always nice to come across a little gem of a film like this one is. The characters are crafted so well that there is nary a false note in the entire piece. The dynamics between the daughter (Meg) and her mother, Meg and her sister, and Meg and her teacher all ring true; at times painfully so. As things so often occur in real life, this was no neat little package of events and resolutions but characters stumbling through situations making good and bad decisions and coming out on the other side having learned something from their experiences.Why can't everyone write like this! Kudos to Karen Moncrief for showing such great respect for her audience. I hope you have many more opportunities to add to your writing and directing resume. I've seen tons of films and very few of them are standouts. This is one of them.