GIRL [2020] (REVIEW)

Dir. Chad Faust

Reviewer. Martyn Wakefield

GIRL sees Bella Thorne arrive back home after a distance to find her estranged father only to discover that she's not the only one looking for him.

Dirty, gritty and messed up (and that's just Thorne) GIRL is a subtle film that focuses on character rather than action but is no less disturbing for it. Like FARGO, there's enough in this small town to make you wince and despite it's simple surroundings there's a complex web of connectivity between character to character that needlethreds a canvas for a satisfying yet unflinching betrayal of trust.

Fighting to find her father against a group of corrupt cops (led by a ruffled Michey Rourke) there's blood and suspense but never exaggerated to rise above the downtrodden reality of backwood America.

Thorne really proves she's a much stronger actress than mainstream media may portray and she shins the Disney childstar role like none other. With the likes of THE BABYSITTER, SCREAM: THE SERIES and ASSASSINATION NATION probes she's as much a scream queen as a Disney princess.