A Girl Like Her

Jessica Burns is found in hospital having poisoned herself. A documentary crew was already filming at her school, and they turn their cameras on this. Then something surfaces: for months Jessica has been recording what was done to her, on a hidden camera pinned to her clothes. Amy S. Weber writes and directs. Lexi Ainsworth plays Jessica and Hunter King plays Avery, who bullies her. The film is built as a mock documentary and most of the dialogue is improvised. Weber gave the actors the situation scene by scene and left the lines to them, which yields uneven performance and conversation that sounds real. The real choice is how much room Avery gets. The bully is not drawn as a monster: we see her at home, with her family, in her own fragility. Most films on this subject will not do that, and it is the most argued over thing here. Some viewers read it as understanding, others as excuse. It was a small production with a limited release, and was separately circulated for showing in schools. Who it is for: viewers who want a realistic teen film about bullying. Who it is not for: a suicide attempt and psychological abuse are shown directly, and the mock documentary form loses its credibility in some scenes.