On first glance, there is nothing particularly original about Flower – it just seems to be another independent comedy-drama with a quirky teenager as the lead, making her way through a hostile world, encountering challenges and overcoming them with a blend of plucky courage high-spirited humor. Flower doesn’t contribute anything innovative to the landscape of modern teen comedies, nor to the world of independent cinema, and it relies on many of the same conventions that have been previous films so successful. Therefore, what is it that makes Flower such a compelling, unique film? Perhaps its the performances, especially the central role, or the willingness of the film to explore some bleak crevices of humanity. Maybe, what makes Flower such a great film is because it manages to portray teenage angst in a way that is funny without being insincere, honest without being too brutal. It has a sense of humor, but also a heavy soulfulness that will strike a chord with many individuals. Flower is understandably a more obscure, less-viewed contemporary teen comedy, because it isn’t radical or overly-exciting, but for those who venture off into this endearing independent comedy, you’ll discover quite a delightful story with genuine heart, and eerily accurate portrayals of the teenage years.

Erica (Zoey Deutch) is an unconventional teenager, and she is proud of it. She comes from a broken home, where her mother, Laurie (Kathryn Hahn) worked hard to raise her single-handedly while Erica’s criminal father got himself into situations that eventually resulted in incarceration. In order to pass time as well as earn money to bail him out of prison, Erica and her two close friends (Dylan Gelula and Maya Eshet) target men around their small town, with Erica performing sexual favours on them for money, and then subsequently extorting more money out of them when it is shown that they have evidence that can lead these men to prison if they so wish. Meanwhile, Erica has to come to terms with her mother’s boyfriend, Bob (Tim Heidecker), whose more straight-laced, upstanding personality is in stark contrast to her real father, who lived life daringly and dangerously. Bob’s son, Luke (Joey Morgan) is set to be released from a rehabilitation programme, where he was treated for drug addiction, and regardless of how hard Erica tries to come to peace with her reserved, troubled step-brother, his past still haunts him, and he is extremely distant from her efforts to bond with him. However, when Luke accidentally reveals a pivotal aspect of his past trauma, Erica takes it upon herself to bring retribution upon the person who apparently harmed her step-brother, but their conquest turns into something far more difficult when a simple con becomes much more a problem that could lead them to their own imprisonment. Do our protagonists run from their actions, or face the consequences by atoning for their mistakes?

Zoey Deutch is an absolute revealation, and I first took notice of her in Everybody Wants Some!!, Richard Linklater’s similarly-themed free-wheeling ode to youthfulness. Forming a career that could eclipse that of her talented mother, Lea Thompson, Deutch consistently chooses interesting parts, with Flower being an extraordinary performance that shows that the actress most certainly has the talents to reaffirm the fact that she is a force to be reckoned with. Flower, as I mentioned before, is nothing entirely new, and there are obvious correlations between Deutch here and other similar teen comedy heroines – consider Emma Stone’s spunky performance in Easy A, Hailee Steinfeld’s terrific complexity in Edge of Seventeen and Saoirse Ronan’s universally-acclaimed rebelliousness in Lady Bird – it is almost becoming an archetype to have these tragicomic teen films feature a plucky female protagonist who defies societal conventions and chooses to revolt against the normative agenda (perhaps include a complex love interest, betrayal  and a difficult parental relationship, and you’ll start to see many similarities between these films). I won’t imply that Deutch was any better, not any worse, than these performances (even if I do personally think she was the most natural, with the exception of Steinfeld), but rather that she is in exceptional good company with this performance, giving her own unique interpretation of the character and portaying adolescent angst with perfect clarity. Her performance is helped considerably by those of her co-stars, with the ever-reliable Kathryn Hahn being astonishing as her caring mother who is doing her very best to provide for her daughter, and Tim Heidecker, a comedic genius who is finally starting to receive the adoration and acclaim his career has been in dire need of. Joey Morgan is exceptional as Erica’s stepbrother, and who I initially thought would be a character used as a plot device turned into a complex, layered role, excellently portrayed by Morgan, who is one of the most unconventional romantic heroes of the year (Flower is unflinching in subverting some expectations, and the climax to this film, where a relationship starts to blossom between the characters, is deliriously strange, but also wonderfully sincere and unexpected). Flower thrives on the energy of the cast, and while it is focused almost entirely on Deutch, with Morgan having the second most significant character, every performance brings something great to this film.

Flower is a typical film of this genre, insofar as it looks at simple themes pertaining to teenage issues. I think these kinds of films are popular for two reasons: firstly the storylines of these films are so resonant, many people can relate to them in some way, having their own experiences reflected somehow in the films. The other is that this sub-genre is one that is tried-and-tested, with some of the most beloved films of the past few decades being teen films, with people like John Hughes and Amy Heckerling perfectly capturing the emotional journey between childhood and adulthood in their often-funny, but also very heavy-handed, films about the teenage years. Erica is an ordinary teenage girl, and she experiences the same insecurities and anxieties as her peers. She may hide being the persona of not caring what others think of her, but she secretly does long for the approval of those around her, albeit through them realizing that she is who she is, rather than changing herself to suit them. Flower is a simple representation of a peculiar young woman who refuses to conform to society, as well as her friends and family who influence her, and who are in turn the beneficaries (and often victims) of her unhinged but endearing eccentricities. It is a film about a carefree, often careless, individual making her way through a world with good humor and persistent tenacity to be herself, and in many ways, Flower is a really sweet and lovable film about the troublesome transition between stages of life, and an honest portrayal of the uncertainities that come along with it.

Yet, what does Flower do that is anything different from other films of its ilk? I have alluded to it previously, but this is a film that certainly does not take the safest route, and eventually devolves into something extremely dark. The third act of this film is polarizing to say the least, and considering that it descends into a crime thriller about two runaways after the audience had been lead to believe it was just a simple teen comedy was either an astoundingly ingenious decision, or a gaudy choice that is entirely unpredictable. Teen films often look at serious social issues, but very few actually focus their stories around child molestation, prostitution or murder. Despite including these very heavy scenes, Flower never loses its sense of humor, even if the final act does forego a lot of the quirky humor that preceded it in an effort to be more gravely serious. I admire a film that can offer perspectives onto more difficult subjects, and Flower is intent on looking at these issues through the lens of an endearing teen comedy. While some of the decisions made in this film seem almost entirely uncharacteristic of the film as a whole, these choices were effective, and not only do they set Flower apart from other similar films, it also makes some profoundly important statements on social issues, the likes of which are rarely seen with such profound brilliance as they are here.

Flower is a terrific film. It may be a bit bewildering, as well as featuring some extraordinarily complex themes that are not usually touched by films like this, but it is a film that is unique without being too inventive. The filmmakers were not attempting to redefine cinema, or even the sub-genre, but rather using a familiar, resonant story to tell an even more complex, twisted tale that serves to be a scathing social commentary. Zoey Deutch continues her meteoric rise to stardom with this amazing performance, supported by a tremendous cast with whom she is able to form meaningful connections and bring out the humanity in an otherwise archetypal character. Flower may not be a perfect film, but it has its rugged charms and its comedic value, but more than anything else, it is a profoundly meaningful film that tells a story hardly ever told, and for that, I have to praise this film and give it kudos for managing to subvert expectations and take the audience on a journey that is often hilarious, sometimes bleak, but overall, a memorable experience that remains one of the more complex teen comedies ever made.