Jessica Burns has a secret that she’s afraid to share with anyone — except her best friend Brian Slater. For the past year the 16-year-old has been victimized by another girl — her former friend Avery Keller, one of South Brookdale High School’s most popular and beautiful students. What can you do when the world sees the image of a person, but not the reality? With Brian’s help and a hidden digital camera, the evidence of Avery’s relentless harassment is captured and finally exposed, bringing both girls and their families face-to-face with the truth.
This is a film that is shot to look like a real-life documentary about bullying, concentrating on everybody who is affected by it. “A Girl Like Her” truly shows that something that may seem so small can actually affect and mess up so many people. This movie isn’t a romance or comedy or an action-packed adventure, but rather quite the contrary. It shows a drama-filled journey. It will not make you laugh. However, it may make you cry. It is about bullying, which should not be referred to as a joke.
In the film a girl named Jessica goes to one of the best public high schools in the nation. After refusing to let her “friend” cheat on her test, she starts getting bullied. She makes her real best friend tell no one of this. But the friend decides that they should do something about it. He gives her a hidden camera to wear and this documents all the bullying. Soon Jessica tries to commit suicide, and the movie shows the struggle of not only the victim and her family, but everybody — the bystander, the bully, the administration, everybody.
This movie is truly emotional. It is made to look like it is documenting a real story. I didn’t even know it was fake until the end! That’s how good of a job it is! The acting is truly wonderful. This is the only time I have ever truly hated a character (the bully) and then felt pity for her. The director does a wonderful job showing the emotions of characters and proving that bullying isn’t just a normal part of life to deal with. It is a serious matter that has killed hundreds of children.
My least favorite scene is when the school administration denies the need to institute anti-bullying policies and tries to brush it away as nothing. It shows you how quickly a school will try to brush off bullying as nothing to look out for its own benefit.
This film should be seen by everyone above the age of 9. I give it 4.5 out of 5 stars because it is a wonderful movie about something we all know is taking place around the world. The only thing I would have liked to have seen in this film is a message at the end or beginning saying that bullying is wrong and is no laughing matter.
Gerry O. — age 12
See his video review at: http://youtu.be/s_xCEC79MT4
