Kelly Fremon Craig’s take on Judy Bloom’s iconic preteen novel is a sweet tale of a young girl figuring out religion, boys and puberty.
Seven years after her hormone-infused directorial debut The Edge of Seventeen, Kelly Fremon Craig returns to the big screen with her adaptation of Judy Blume’s Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret. First published in 1970, the canonic coming-of-age novel blazed a trail for cultural representation of authentic girlhood. Staying true to the timeless source material, Craig derives universal themes of identity and belonging from a wide-eyed tween’s buzzing adolescence and a joint zest for life across generations of mothers and daughters.
The film retells the beloved tale of the 11-year-old Margaret Simon (Abby Ryder Fortson) navigating the start of her anxiety-ridden puberty. In the eye of the storm is Margaret’s existential inquiry into religion and self, torn between two faiths of her Christian mom Barbara (Rachel McAdams) and Jewish dad Herb (Benny Safdie).
Craig anchors the film with the intergenerational bond of Margaret, Barbara, and grandma Sylvia (Kathy Bates), as the trio scrambles to deal with the family’s move from New York City to New Jersey. Always finding herself talking to an unidentified god, Margaret seeks guidance out of the haze and daze of family dramas, boy problems and her changing body. Rolling with Margaret’s ups-and-downs, Fortson captures every subtlety of growing up with emotional intelligence and versatility.
McAdams and Bates’ performances are both effortlessly affecting for us to root for women in different stages of their life. McAdams plays the ever-frazzled artist-turned-housewife with nuance and relatability, drawing on her real-life experience of balancing motherhood and career ambition. It’s a piece of cake for Bates to enliven Sylvia, who sprinkles delights and mischiefs onto Margaret’s day-to-day that can get stale and heavy.
Despite the feel-good chemistry radiating from the Simon women, Craig switches focus onto the milestone moments where they confront Margaret’s religious impasse. The film reaches its climax marked by Margaret’s newfound self-awareness – when she realizes the futility of prioritizing God over people she cares about. Protesting against Barbara and Sylvia’s fight over her religious identity, Margaret elevates herself to equal the adults.
The film takes a step beyond the teen-girl angst and originates an empowering portrait of collective womanhood. Getting her first period and buying her first bras are not Margaret’s solo adventure, but a shared opportunity for Barbara to also relish her firsts as a mother. Similar effort for subversion is evident in Craig’s casting of Black actor Amari Alexis Price to reimagine a fan favorite: Margaret’s ‘Pre-teen Sensation’ clubmate Janie, who opts for kindness and solidarity against school bullying.
Readers who grew up with Blume’s book have now become mothers and grandmothers of new generations of “Margarets.” But open discussions of women’s reproductive health and sex education in our school system have never been more necessary and urgent. Reminiscing the awkward yet cherished time where every little thing feels like a big deal, Craig fosters empathy and strength in It’s Me, Margaret, relevant and timely no matter how overtold the story might seem by now.
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Published 17 May 2023
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