...are the most interesting stage/screen
depictions of sexually slanderous kids?
depictions of sexually slanderous kids?
I'm beginning work on a project that considers stage &/or screen narratives
centering around adolescent characters who "play" grown up games
(especially those involving sex, lies and miscellaneous depravity).
So, I turn to you, lovely reader:
What are your favorite depictions of sexually slanderous teens?
Patty McCormack in The Bad Seed, obviously. That little devil is so maniacally that I'm sure even Hannibal Lecter would be slightly terrified of her before eating her liver.
ReplyDeleteMake that "maniacally evil".
ReplyDeleteI'm gonna go with "The Crucible" because it's not overt. I'm still relatively young -- I say that Zac Efron is old enough to be my grandson when really I don't even have two years on him -- but I'm not comfortable watching young actors do very sexually charged material.
ReplyDeleteHm, Mamet's Oleanna springs to mind immediately, or is she too old for this?
ReplyDeleteThe ones that come to mind immediately are Tuesday Weld in PRETTY POISON and Mylene Demongeot (a memorable Abigail in the Yves Montand-Simone Signoret version of THE CRUCIBLE from 1957). Does Sue Lyon qualify in LOLITA? She's both enabler and enabled, I guess. But she's pretty hard to forget. Come to think of it, these three practically look like sisters - and would've been dynamite playing same.
ReplyDeleteDo blondes have more issues?
-"Welcome to the Dollhouse", particularly for the interaction between Dawn (Heather Matarazzo) and Brandon (Brandon Sexton Jr.).
ReplyDelete-"Broken Flowers" for the Lolita character played by Alexis Dziena.
-"Poison Ivy" starring Drew Barrymore and "The Crush" starring Alicia Silverstone.
- Pretty Persuasion (2005)
ReplyDelete- Bully (2001)
The all-time classic for me would be The Children's Hour, in whichever version. And there's also evil little Hayley Mills in The Chalk Garden.
ReplyDeleteKubrick's "Lolita" (obvious but true), "Freeway" with Reese Witherspoon, "River's Edge", "Hard Candy" (haven't seen the last one).
ReplyDelete"Heathers"
ReplyDeleteJennifer Jason Leigh, "Fast Times at Ridgemont"; Jody Foster "Taxi Driver", "Foxes"; "Little Darlins".
ReplyDeleteIs Atonement too obvious? I think Carol Reed's The Fallen Idol fits in here, too, though I haven't seen it in a while. And wee Anna Paquin sure gets her momma in a heap o' trouble in The Piano, though it's hardly "slander" since she's telling the truth, however vindictively...
ReplyDeleteIn a lighter register, there's Johnny Galecki's farcical attempt at blackmailing Martin Donovan in The Opposite of Sex.
Oh! Gotta have Mädchen in Uniform.