Babyteeth
“Babyteeth” is elevated by the lead performance of Eliza Scanlen as Milla, a young woman with cancer. She radiates so much life and love and heart into the character, and the journey she goes on throughout the film’s nearly-two hours, that everything else feels artificial by comparison. You’ve seen so many of the narrative and emotional beats in the film written by Rita Kalnejais and directed by Shannon Murphy that you’ll probably be able to tick them off once they arrive. Like she is for the characters in “Babyteeth,” Milla is the guiding light for how you’ll feel about the movie as it unfolds.
The film begins with an unusual “meet cute” for Milla and Moses, the 20-something drug dealer she’ll fall in love with. He is played by Toby Wallace, and we’re as taken aback by Milla’s attraction to him as her parents (Ben Mendelshon and Essie Davis) are. But from the moment he runs into her on that train platform, where she ends up not getting on the train with her fellow musicians, she is intrigued by him, and he is intrigued by her. One of the things that is intriguing in Kalnejais’s script is how it goes against our expectations for this type of romance; in a normal teen movie, the relationship with Moses would lead her down a complete change in personality and demeanor, and while she certainly gets more rebellious, she stays fundamentally the same all the way through. That doesn’t mean her parents have no reason to be concerned, however; while he does care about her, the way they perceive him, which is not terribly far removed from how he is, makes sense for them to be hesitant. As the film continues, however, Mendelshon’s father starts to see the value in the relationship, and how living care free can benefit everyone involved.
For the most part, if the film is not centered on Milla, it doesn’t hold as much interest. We’ve seen many of the tropes and cliches of this story before, and subplots involving her music teacher and a pregnant neighbor don’t really keep us engaged the way the Milla’s story does. Milla feels like a very personal character for writer, director and actor, and the way the film is structured with “chapter titles” shows us to evolution of the character, her feelings, and her life. More than anything else, this film succeeds when it is enveloped in Milla’s point-of-view, and personal feelings. That’s what makes the final images of the film so powerful, even if “Babyteeth” doesn’t quite earn such emotional resonance on the whole- these women all feel for Milla, and want us to feel for her, as well, as she is trying to hold on to the feeling of life as an experience to be had, and cherished, every moment of the way.
