Babyteeth review: Eliza Scanlen’s star-making turn

Eliza Scanlen delivers a stirring performance in an otherwise by-the-numbers romantic indie drama about a young woman dying of cancer in Shannon Murphy’s Babyteeth.

There was a time (give or take five years ago) when romance movies about the terminally ill and/or dying teens were, strangely, a dime a dozen. The Fault In Our Stars (adapted from the wildly popular John Green novel of the same name) led the pack, but others like Me and Earl and the Dying Girl, If I Stay, Five Feet Apart, Midnight Sun, and Everything, Everything were all variations of the same oddly specific trope that raked in the dough at the box office.

However, just as with YA dystopian films, the mania has seemingly died down, enough so that Shannon Murphy’s Babyteeth could be released without feeling like it was entering into an already over-saturated market. While admittedly Babyteeth is much more deftly crafted (not to mention with the kind of acting that the aforementioned other films could only dream of) than its predecessors, it still doesn’t hit the right marks to be as emotionally potent as it could be.

Starring Eliza Scanlen as Milla, the film follows the young, cancer-ridden woman’s last few months alive as she falls in love with a drug dealer after a chance encounter. Milla’s parents Henry (Ben Mendelsohn) and Anna (Essie Davis) are initially wary of the older, strung-out Moses, but as Milla falls even deeper in love, they began to question what the right thing to do for their daughter is, considering just how little time she has left.

Babyteeth veers away from following the typical melodrama of a high-school-aged girl, and is instead more interested in chronicling the physical and psychological toll that dealing with a terminal illness can have not just on a person, but also their loved ones. Everyone close to Milla copes with her inevitable demise in their own way; Moses and Anna both struggle with addiction (Moses going so far as to attempt to rob Milla’s home of pills to take and/or sell), while Henry has a brief tryst with a neighborhood woman.

All three of them carry a certain sadness in the way they walk, speak, and talk. While they may be healthy relative to Milla, they’re far from okay — her illness takes just as much of a toll on them as it does on her. Despite the introspective story this plot could yield, however, the main focus of Babyteeth is on the romance between Milla and Milo which is, unfortunately, one of our least favorite aspects of the film.

We don’t particularly like Milo, nor do we want to root for a romance between a drug-dealing 23-year-old and a sickly, easily-manipulated minor, which means that all the romantic scenes come off feeling more than a little creepy. Whether or not that was Murphy’s intention is unclear, but we just can’t bring ourselves to be sad when the two get into an argument or are on the outs from each other — it would be better for everyone if they were apart, not to mention the fact that, other than what we’re told by characters directly, they don’t really seem to have chemistry.

While the romance itself may not work, Eliza Scanlen completely sells her performance as the lovesick (and literally sick) Milla, a timid young woman who’s constantly conflicted in the struggle to find her own identity while also making the most of the time she has with the people in her life. It’s not the most “in-your-face” performance, but it doesn’t have to be. Scanlen can convey every last drop of emotion she needs to with a single glance or silent stare.

Also bringing their A-game in terms of acting is Ben Mendelsohn as Henry, Milla’s father. Henry is the film’s most relatable and sympathetic character, and the final scene of him attempting to smile when Milla asks him to pose for a picture is particularly gut-wrenching. Our only complaint about Henry is that we wish we could’ve seen more of him and Anna; their introductory scene makes it seem like they’re a couple very much in love, but they spend most of the movie apart or bickering.

On the whole, the film is incredibly well shot. It has a beautiful, simplistic color palette that suits the nature of the narrative and reflects its heroine. However, the structure of the film (which is broken up into pseudo “chapters” with pastel headings every now and again) feels a little gimmicky and not like they do much to enhance the film on the whole.

The chapter cards summarize where the film struggles the most: in its attempts to be “aesthetic” and “unique,” Babyteeth shoots itself in the foot and distracts from the emotionality of the story being told. Its best scenes are where the editing and fanfare are at a minimum, and Murphy just lets her stellar cast of actors do their work.

While it may spend a little too much time delving into aesthetics, Babyteeth is still a stirring drama with an incredible cast and a gripping narrative that will keep audiences engaged and weepy-eyed.

Have you seen Babyteeth? What’s your favorite teen romance movie? Sound off in the comments below.