Taking a triip down under we enter the realm of teenage angst, colour coordinated mean girls, anxiety attacks, sentimental music boxes, weird creatures in the woods and an unwanted birthday party. It was compared to Wes Anderson's style of filming but mainly compared to his production design style, which is why I sought after this weird little gem.
Adapted from the stage play which was performed in Adelaide, Girl Asleep retains its theatre roots, especially in the fantastical elements of the story. Girl Asleep is about Greta, a shy awkward teenager on the cusp of her 15th birthday. She makes friends with a fellow outsider, is invited to hang out with the 'cool' girls and has to cope with her bickering parents as they force her to host a birthday party in order to make more friends. During the party she falls alseep and experiences a vivid dream that boarders reality.
It is obvious why this worked so well on stage and translates perfectly to screen. As with most stage to screen stories, there are far less restrictions in terms of sets and locations but the fact that some characters in Greta's real life cross over into weird manifestations in her dream world, the imagination is slightly lost.
As mentioned before, the aesthetics of the film are superb. The 70s setting also gives the film a delightful quirk all ready to go. It was also stated that this community wouldn't look out of place next to Napoleon Dynamite's. Every little detail is taken into account with each characters having a clear identity and something to make them stand out, making the film wonderfully structured and colourful.
Described as 'an extroverted fantasy dreamscape of an introverted teenage girl' is probably most accurate. Greta needs to work out her anger and through her bizarre dream she is able to be on the way to finding herself, even if there are smaller parts to the story left unresolved. Its a charming harmless theatrical gem that I was more than happy to stumble upon.
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