As Nadine, the 19-year old Steinfeld is as vivacious here in her comic timing as she was in the Coen Brothers’ 2010 redo of True Grit. It would come as no surprise to see her in the Golden Globes lead actress comedy category come December.
“Hailee Steinfeld has gathered confidence as a performer, and ‘The Edge of Seventeen’ is her breakthrough. She’s a fantastic actress, with a sharpness and verve that belies the catlike softness of her features. She’s like the young Elizabeth Taylor, with playful flexing eyebrows that italicize her every thought. Even when she’s just tossing off lines, Steinfeld makes Nadine a hellion you can’t tear yourself away from. She isn’t just the star of ‘The Edge of Seventeen’ — she’s its center of gravity.”
The actress has already fared better than most youngsters nominated for Oscars, with steady work even if she's mostly played third fiddle to more crucial roles. Here she launches herself into more mature roles and shows herself to be quite a natural comedic actress while revealing layered pain. She makes the sharp turns in Nadine's behavior seamless without ever missing a hilarious beat. In a fair world, she would be a shoo-in for a comedy Golden Globe nomination.
Grimey and KFC twiglet should have stolen something with a memorable melody (apart from Two Weeks and Flesh Without Blood) and they wouldn't have been artists who are forgotten a week after they release something.
Are you really trying to compare two girls who built their careers up from nothing to Jay-Z's wh0re who has had everything handed to her on a silver platter?
