Tanner Hall (2011)

Good story, Not enough for a whole film

everything you have heard about this movie is true.

Tells a fascinating and unsettling true story, and does so well, without pretending to have all the answers.

All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

Fern (Rooney Mara) returns to the all-girls boarding school Tanner Hall in New England for the new school year. She is still haunted by a childhood incident when Victoria let her grandmother's bird free. Victoria (Georgia King) comes to school after years without seeing Fern. She is a lying troublemaker causing havoc for Fern and her friends. Kate (Brie Larson) is a flirt. Lucasta (Amy Ferguson) likes to draw and is reserved. The Middlewoods (Chris Kattan, Amy Sedaris) run the school and teach. Gio (Tom Everett Scott) is Fern's mother's friend's husband who takes Fern out on day trips.There is an OK dark mean-girls Lolita film somewhere here. The 4 girls do a reasonable job but the movie goes wrong real quick. The moment that Chris Kattan starts knocking down doors in the girls' shower is when the movie goes wrong. It's stupid. Quite frankly, Chris Kattan is a bad actor. He and Amy Sedaris seem intend on making a broad slapstick comedy which is completely different than what the 4 girls are doing. These two directions do not mix.Then I don't get Gio signing out Fern. What exactly does her mother or his wife think is going on? It's not like they can hide the sign outs. As for the key, wouldn't Mrs. Middlewoods figure out that Victoria made a copy? The movie seems to insist that the Middlewoods are foolish cartoon characters. Also wouldn't Fern talk to Peter after she figured out Victoria's lies? That's a much needed missing scene. Chris Kattan sunk this movie and all the later problems don't help.

Through the years I have seen many movies about kids in high school, kids in private school, kids in military school, kids in camp, kids on a ball team, and kids in a dance group. This is not one of those movies.I searched for an outstanding personality, in a field of superb acting by the girls, but could not find one. Generally, the main actor "makes" the movie for me and this movie, it seems, did not have one. Kids coming of age almost always presents an interesting story and, I suppose if I had been a poor little rich girl that attended private school in New England, this movie may have appealed to me. But it made little sense, otherwise. This movie seemed to be more of a few days in the life of, rather than a complete story. The Facts of Life Movie, rated R, might be a better project for the producers.

Tanner Hall is one of those all-girl boarding schools set in the old, countryside serenity of New England. It's probably prestigious (since rich girls go there too), and literally gated. Locked on the inside and out – which seems not only inappropriate but not feasible either since somehow pizza delivery boys can get in. "Tanner Hall" is a teenage girl movie, and of course, our four main girls find no end of trouble in their small school.A main indicator for how good (or how poor) a movie is, is how well they can reach their target audience. Despite competent casting directors, set directors, and cinematographers, "Tanner Hall" is just way too slow to really engage their youthful audience. We are slowly introduced to Fernanda (Rooney Mara), Victoria (Georgia King), Kate (Brie Larson) and Lucasta (Amy Ferguson). And then with poorly thought out drama (and no comedy) we venture forth as they struggle with coming of age.Victoria is a trouble-maker, but one misplaced early scene ruined any chance for a strong moment of empathy for her character. Kate is a sexually adventurous trouble-maker and the one with the best chance for intrigue and suspense but she was only the third main character. Fernanda is supposed to be a good girl but then she falls into temptation with an older man. Lucasta, the fourth-billed, was struggling to figure out what kind of girl she was, wanting to understand what she was attracted to and what was attractive about her. Clearly, this is the most sympathetic character and the one that every girl could relate to in one way or another. But instead, the writers and directors made us spend most of our time with Fernanda whose extracurricular activities were not only immoral but illegal too and completely unrelatable to the normal school-age girl.The grown-up, slowly maturing, adult version of me couldn't connect with any of the girls and found it awfully hard to sit through. The teenage girl version of me would have been able to connect to one of the girls, but it wouldn't really be worth my time.Don't bother seeking out "Tanner Hall". Just because Rooney Mara is now famous, and an Oscar nominee, doesn't mean we need to start releasing her earlier, forgettable work.

I am not a teenage girl but after watching "Tanner Hall" I think I might know what it feels like to be one. The laser-perfect ensemble cast navigates the Terra Incognita of teenage love with rare & effortless authenticity. The look is elegant. The feel is timeless. The lighting is sublime. The shots are considered & appropriate. "Tanner Hall" is a first film & has its faults. But like the intermittent pools of light dappling its dark corridors, the film possesses a rare & uplifting spirit of redemption. Chris Kattan & Amy Sedaris are hilarious! The score is innovative & emotional. "Girl With The Dragon Tattoo" Rooney Mara is one of the stars. She's terrific. Great performances all around. Excellent Debut Film!