In 1969 Pennsylvania, Jamie Schwartz (Alex Wolff) is in his Senior Year at Crampton Prep. The other boys hate him and the teachers are little better. He wants to do a play about Holden Caulfield adapting J.D. Salinger's The Catcher in the Rye. He likes a townie girl but another, Deedee Gorlin (Stefania LaVie Owen), likes him and his play. He runs away from the bullying and goes in search of the reclusive Salinger. Deedee volunteers to drive him.There are some early extended flashbacks. Most of it is unnecessary except for showing a hatred of him from the start and the cause of his isolation. Jamie is a rather dislikeable awkward nerd while Deedee is adorable. He's clueless in an annoying way. It makes his obsession with the pretty girl very superficial. It's appealing to have his sole obsession be Salinger while avoiding the pretty girl trope. Deedee goes hard at Jamie. They could have played with possible homosexuality except for him falling over himself for the pretty girl. There are issues at play with this coming-of-age story. The relationship grows on me but I never really like Jamie. She's the better character and would have been a better protagonist. Chris Cooper does a nice turn in a small role although that exchange could have some more supportive words even if it comes from Deedee.

A wonderful movie, masterfully written, superbly acted, beautifully filmed. A poignant, touching story without becoming ponderous or treacly. Perfectly captures adolescence. We had the good fortune to meet the filmmaker at a festival and can relate that the sincerity of the piece reflects his true nature.

I drove from VT to Boston to see this beautiful movie at the BIFF more than a week ago and have not been able to stop thinking about it since. One of the best coming of age movies I have ever seen and I can't wait to see it again. The acting is phenomenal, the scenery and attention to detail are perfect...sometimes this type of story can come off as forced or too scripted, but I found myself totally engrossed from beginning to end and leaving the theater wishing for more...and also as if I had been right there with Jamie and DeeDee. I hope this extraordinary film gets picked up and becomes available for everyone to see very soon!

Spoiler alert! This movie was so exciting for me to watch. I am a longtime fan of JD Salinger and the only one in my high school English class who didn't write Holden Caulfield off as crazy. I have read other stories of journalists going on treks to locate the reclusive Salinger only to make it as far as his driveway or front door to be turned away. When the filmmaker said 99% of the dialogue between himself and Salinger was true, I couldn't believe a KID had made it through the fortress! I loved the parallels between the young director's life and Holden's portrayed in the movie. He plays Mercutio in a prep school play and the students cheer his death. "But everyone loves Mercutio" he bemoans. You may remember Mercutio was Holden's favorite character in Romeo and Juliet. The alienation he feels from the other kids also parallels Holden's feelings of isolation. I loved the addition of Dee Dee a freckled curly haired cute and wonderfully insightful and kind girl who has an obvious crush on Jamie, the young director. She has her own strong feelings about the book Catcher In The Rye, pointing out that Holden always wanted to save kids from making mistakes and dangerous fates. Perhaps that is even why in reality the famous writer met the young playwright head on and even though he discouraged his play of Catcher in the Rye did encourage his creative endeavors generally.