Girl Picture (2022) User Reviews

SMOOTHIE FINISH

[js-66130 · 8/10 · 16 August 2022]

A rather frank Finish feature of girls deciphering hormonal urges as they mature into adulthood. The matter of fact sex talk is blunt, refreshing, insightful and often funny, as director Alli Haapasalo avoids the sensationalistic and exploitative Hollywood pratfalls of bedroom romps. These are kids, experimenting, exploring, learning, fumbling, growing and most importantly, discussing. A talkie, not a humpy.

Mimmi and Ronkko swap sex tales whilst serving up ridiculously named smoothies ("It Takes Two To Mango") at the local food court, when clique preppie figure skater Emma disrupts their world. The punky, cynical and rebellious Mimmi (Aamu Milonoff) argues with, then falls for the forbidden fruit, and we have story. A story that feels natural, flows true, views like a diary.

Milonoff is sensational in the lead, owning the screen at every emotional turn: burning embarrassment at her mother's neglect, seducing her target on the dance floor, and lashing out physical for attention. Though this is a three girl story across three Friday nights, and Haapasalo splits the plot pie in equal portions, Milonoff as Mimmi steals the show. "Girl Picture" is her movie.

Watch out!

• hipCRANK.

A Fun Watchable Coming of Age Story taking place in Finland

[chenp-54708 · 6/10 · 21 April 2022]

Originally premiered at the 2022 Sundance Film Festival for the World Dramatic Competition selection. I originally brought tickets for this movie during the virtual festival but after watching 30 minutes of the movie, I turned it off because I was tired. However, the festival ended the next day as I got caught off from my schedule so I wasn't able to finish the movie. Recently, I found another screening at another festival so I rewatched it again. Was it worth it? Sort of.

Directed by Alli Haapasalo and its a story about three girls name Mimmi, Emma and Rönkkö who are at the cusp of womanhood, trying to draw their own contours. During three consecutive Fridays, two of them experience the earth moving effects of falling in love, while the third goes on a quest to find something she's never experienced before: pleasure. Finland cinema isn't common from where I am so it was nice to see a movie from Finland. The presentation is really good as the 1:33:1 aspect ratio did feel purposeful for the most part. Trying to capture the theme where the girls are stuck in their youth still while trying to grow out of it soon. The chemistry between the characters were mostly interesting however some felt like there could be some improvements. Each performances from the cast is pretty good as there wasn't a single weak performance from the actors. The nice production design and pacing helped to make the movie feel wholesome and fun to watch throughout.

Most of the characters have their purpose but some felt like they are just there for the plot honestly. Nothing too special that comes out from the story. It's the average basic story about an coming of age story on girls. The musical choice honestly gets annoying as the song called "Slip Away" from the band Perfume Genius is over played at this point. That song has been played since Eighth Grade and Booksmart which fits perfectly, but now its kind of over used which is annoying. Some of the dialogue could be improved since some of the words did feel like something Jaden Smith would make from a bad record album. Despite these problems, the movie never fails to become boring and there are some wholesome moments to connect with our main three characters. Good job for the effort.

Rating: B-

Unconvincing

[derek-duerden · 6/10 · 24 January 2023]

I'm not Finnish, or a girl, or young, so my experience may not be relevant, but much of this felt unconvincing.

While the actors are generally pretty good and engaging, and some of the development felt real, for me there were too many drastic shifts in tone and attitude which, by the end, meant that it had lost believeability. For example, initially I was convinced by the emerging attraction between the ice skater and her girlfriend - but then they both take (for me) surprising sharp turns as a result of the relationship, such that the "happy ending" was not at all convincing. In addition, the third girl's combination of disastrous sexual encounters and very frank topics of conversation also didn't convince. With that level of "openness" about sexuality one would have expected her to have figured things out while alone before all the mishaps?

Also - a minor point, but given the combination of huge amounts of teenage bad behaviour, very sexual conversation and sexual situations, yet zero nudity I did end up wondering whether this was consciously targeted at the American market? It didn't feel European at all, really. Shame.

Window on their world ...

[Howlin Wolf · 10/10 · 10 February 2022]

It doesn't do anything radically different; it's pretty much your standard coming of age movie... but by the end, I'd bought into, believed and come to love these characters - just as much as they loved each other, when all was said and done... Girl power.

A Finntastic film

[giorgosloukas-84082 · 10/10 · 25 April 2023]

A preview for the story is that 3 teenager girls are trying to find their sexual needs , learn about sex , how to manage a relationship and lastly find themselves and keep their friendship together.

Don't jump into the movie thinking with a huge storyline, however with a short and great story .

What I loved about this film is the actresses that play the three protagonists. Their characters are great and pretty good written . I was always wanted a Finnish film like this . It's a great addition to the Finnish movie industry and its surely great. If you are learning Finnish it will surely help you , you won't learn much about the Finnish culture but you might experience a little bit about the teenger Finnish culture. I loved every second of this film, its pretty smooth and the story its well good written , I hope we can see more in the Finnish film industry.

Lastly, I wanted to talk about that the teen life it portrays maybe its not the best but its good enough. I am not Finnish and I Don't really know what is like or if its exactly like that. Great shots from the film .

Lovely and arresting film

[thesnarkascending · 9/10 · 17 August 2022]

"Girl Picture" is a wonderfully compelling, beautifully directed and shot story about three young women growing up in Helsinki and their relationships. The actresses quickly ensnare you and you find yourself feeling the characters' feelings along with them. I loved the figure skating plot line. Highly recommend.

Bof!

[EdgarST · 2/10 · 1 January 2023]

It's been a long time since I have seen a bad movie like "Girls Girls Girls." A silly story of three middle-class girls who want sex, ripped from thousands of American coming-of-age movies featuring horny teens, with a sports competition thrown in to (badly) evoke the feeling of better movies like "Flashdance" or "Saturday Night Fever", and of course a lesbian romance to keep up with the times. All three girls are supposedly after love, but each has some kind of addiction, each is a perfect case to include in Robin Norwood's "Women Who Love Too Much". Made in Finland, which could not help but propose it as the Finnish film for the Oscars. Kaurismaki and company must have passed out. Very poor.

You will love these three girls

[Henry_Seggerman · 10/10 · 20 September 2022]

Movies about teenagers are difficult, since adults make them and commercial distributors are part of the financial decisions. So, they can tend to be exploitative or even just adults imposing their own perceptions of what it means to grow up. Not this film. It's really brilliant and reminds me of John Hughes' groundbreaking THE BREAKFAST CLUB. Each of these three girls are flawed in her own way, but all remain relatable throughout the movie. The dialogue is often startling in its candor and performances are passionate, poignant--especially when the girls are confused or mistaken, which I think is the point of the movie.

Quality coming of age film from Finland.

[suuronenmiro · 9/10 · 14 April 2022]

Finnish film that got audience award from Sundance this year.

So i was definitely interested in watching this one.

It's always really nice when finnish films get international attention.

I was really surprised how much I loved this.

Original title is Tytöt Tytöt Tytöt.

When translated that is quite literally Girls Girls Girls.

I don't necessarily know why they didn't keep that as title.

Because in this story three is quite important number.

Three girls.

Three fridays.

I find it really interesting how this story is mostly happening during three evenings.

Lot of things happens during those weeks between these three separate fridays.

Three different situations and problems that these girls have.

Mimmi who is having problems with her mental health and is searching her identity.

She also has family problems.

She is played by Aamu Milonoff.

Another actor from Milonoff family.

Her father is actor whose brothers are actors and tv persons in Finland.

Atleast i can tell her apart from other Milonoff's.

Then there is Emma who has been figure skater for almost her whole life.

She is getting ready for really important competition.

But she is having problems with one jump.

She is played by Linnea Leino.

Then there is Rönkkö who is searching her sexuality and love.

She doesn't feel passion from sex.

She is played by Eleonoora Kauhanen.

Really amazing performances.

I have heard that director Alli Haapasalo has taken some inspiration from Booksmart.

I can kinda feel that in this.

Really interesting story about coplex relationships between different young characters.

Everything felt so natural and real.

Like young people's really talk like this in Finland.

Really modern language is used.

I'm boy around same age than characters in this film.

Setting is Finland's capital city Helsinki.

I live just about 100 kilometers to north in smaller village.

So i feel that i haven't lived that similiar youth.

But i can still feel that this film was about suprisingly universal things.

I seriously got little bit emotional in the end.

Please, finnish filmmakers!

Make more this high quality films.

I really loved this.

SKAM Derivative Played by Over Aged Girls. Five * out of ten for comedy

[velvet_zoo · 6 October 2022]

This film depicts three affluent European high school girls in the middle of some coming of age issues - I would not go so far as to call it problems.

The structure and the feel is a derivative of the Norwegian Internet series SKAM, which was made on a string budget with authentic real aged teenagers.

In SKAM, characters were balanced, multi layered and above all believable, while the characters here are quite shallow and, for that matter, portrayed by over age women. This gives it a somewhat awkward feeling at times, especially when it comes to portraying first sexual encounters. It is worth noting that Aamu Milonoff is 23, Eleonoora Kauhanen is 24 and Linnea Leino is 30 when the "girls" keep on experiencing these first (random) sexual encounters and discuss them on their job in a fruit juice stand, usually right after high school classes.

There is an abundant supply of cliches, like singing to random music playing on the car stereo while driving to parties or bouncing around each other in luxury apartments like happy young kittens.

All characters, even more so the male characters, feel constructed with a need to cover cliches. For the sake of comedy this is okay and at times it is entertaining. Anything beyond that feels contrived. The teenage love stories do not have the kind of pull that some teenagers actually feel when they are in it, thinking they experience the end of the world.

There is a lot of sexuality in this film that obviously comes from teenagers watching too much pornography. While it is true that European teenagers are highly exposed to pornography, portraying this issue with over aged actresses playing teenagers recreates a feeling of sexual exploitation that was declared as the arch enemy in feminist film making. In this aspect the film has failed. It could have been a chance to authentically rewrite the way teenage girls are portrayed in modern cinema.

A clichéd teen movie

[yamazyewraldi · 5/10 · 6 November 2023]

There's nothing wrong with clichéd teen movies; I often enjoy such films. However, the screenplay is quite poor. Somehow, the plot feels rushed yet dull. The character development is very shallow.

Just with a quick shallow hasty conversation, you managed to win the heart of someone who didn't like you at the first meeting, leading to an intimate relationship with them. After that, you both became a couple in deep love and inseparable from each other. Like????? What just happened?

I had to rewatch some parts because I thought I missed some important scenes. But no, I didn't miss any important parts but this is what the story looks like. It's very fast-paced without strong character development.

Screenplay 4/10 Scoring 6/10 Acting 7/10.

Shallow, forced, uninspiring, unrealistic drivel

[sundman · 1/10 · 29 July 2022]

It's supposed to be some kind of coming of age story, but the writers and/or director apparently has zero experience of real life in general and of men in particular. It's trying way too hard to be edgy by oversexualizing everything and glorifying extreme promiscuity, as a replacement for real content. All characters are paper thin caricatures from some feminist erotic trash lit, and offer no surface with which to connect emotionally.

There is something weird about the audio of this movie.

[matiassss · 5/10 · 20 April 2023]

Seen in viaplay video streaming platform at 20/4/2023.

Little synopsis

Mimmi (Aamu Milonoff) and Rönkkö (Eleonora Kauhanen) share a close bond as best friends and work together at a juice bar. Their everyday lives are filled with unpredictable adventures and missteps, which they approach with a carefree and self-deprecating attitude. One day, they stumble upon a lively house party by chance, and as they navigate through the event, Rönkkö sets her sights on finding sexual gratification while Mimmi connects with Emma (Linnea Leino), a skilled figure skater.

Overall the movie is alright. Its nothing groundbreaking and the overall film making is adequate, however the cinematography has shallowest depth of field I have seen in a long time, which makes watching the movie quite obnoxious at times.

However the most annoying part of the movie is the sound. I cant really put my finger on it, but it feels like almost all of the bass of the dialogue scenes has been removed, which makes the sound seem to be very low quality, tinny and hard to understand. The only times there is normal amount of bass in the sound is when a song is played. I don't know if this is a deliberate decision; a way to ''improve'' the clarity of the dialogue or accidental, nevertheless it really hurts the overall quality of the film.

Also I might be tripping balls or something, but the movie feels like its sped up by 1-3%, i cant really put my finger on it why does it feel like that way, maybe its the sound quality that i mentioned earlier.