Tanner Hall [DVD]

"Tanner Hall" is one of those well meaning, but very familiar, coming-of-age stories that have populated the movie landscape since before I can remember. That said, it is also a movie that I very much wanted to like. Despite the well-worn premise, the film is obviously made with care and there is a lot of talent involved in the production. The piece seems very personal to filmmakers Francesca Gregorini and Tatiana von Furstenberg, and I admired the look and feel of the picture with its muted tones and its palpable aura of nostalgia. And yet for all its good qualities, there seems to be something lacking. Forget for a minute that we've seen every plot point in countless other movies as this can actually be forgiven if a film is exceedingly well done. My primary concern stems from a screenplay that seems to have huge chunks missing. The movie feels very episodic as we move from scene to scene, oftentimes with no tangible or logical connector. Several times as a new sequence would begin, I had to think "huh, did I miss something?" because nothing that was shown supported what was currently happening. My favorite instance involved the disappearance of a major character with a paraphrased narration that said something like "she was so upset, she never left school again." And then we never see this principle character again!

"Tanner Hall" does boast a strong and appealing cast. It concerns a quartet of girls at a boarding school, each navigating the pitfalls of advancing to womanhood. They are, however, stuck in pretty stock characterizations despite good performances all around. Rooney Mara (The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo) plays a good girl involved in a flirtation with a married man, Gerorgia King plays a troubled girl who acts out in response to an unhappy home life, Brie Larson plays a mischievous girl who flirts with a teacher, and Amy Ferguson plays a girl struggling to understand her sexuality. I liked all four actresses, and enjoyed the comedic bits offered up by the great Amy Sedaris and Chris Kattan as the so-called responsible adults. Individual moments can be quite effective or amusing, it just never seems to gel to a cohesive whole.

I can't help but wonder what the original script looked like or how much material had to be excised from the final production schedule. The unexplained narrative jumps are really quite jarring. Still, if you're a fan of any of the lead actors--they are earnest and convincing. The film looks great, but it ends up losing emotional impact for the reasons stated already. I think the filmmakers exhibit a lot of style and a real eye for scene composition, and I look forward to sampling the next endeavor. But for me, "Tanner Hall" left me a bit empty. KGHarris, 12/11.

TANNER HALL is like a very interesting puzzle delivered to the audience in pieces so disconnected that we never get a final reward form the completion of the puzzle. Written and directed by newcomers Francesca Gregorini and Tatiana von Furstenberg it has a script that seems to want to be embellished or at least reinsert what seems to be like fragments of a longer film that still dwell on the cutting room floor. But for what it is, it is an entertaining stage for the presence of some very fine actors about whom, despite the shred of information about each, we learn to care.

Tanner Hall is an all girls (with the exception of the Head Mistress's son Peter as played by Ryan Schira) somewhere in New England: the stately buildings are crumbling just like the lives of the girls who study there. Fernanda (Rooney Mara sans piercings and tattoos!) relates the story by remembering a time in her childhood when her friend Victoria (Georgia King) committed an act of meanness - allowing an old lady's pet parrot to escape. Hold that thought.

At the school Fernanda, Kate (Brie Larson) and Lucasta (Amy Ferguson0 are best friends and when Victoria is dropped off to yet another new boarding school by her abusive mother she joins the clack. From this point the entries into love, alienation, mischief, decisions about sexuality, and adultery color the fragments of the film. Gio (Tom Everett Scott) is married and expecting a baby but falls for Fernanda and the two have a challenging relationship. Lucasta must face her conflict as to her needs and rebuffs physical advances form delivery boy Hank (Shawn Pyfrom), and Kate flirts with teacher Mr. Middleton (Chris Kattan) married to the sex obsessed and frustrated Mrs. Middleton (Amy Sedaris). Victoria is left yearning for the world of relationships to make sense but not finding the path. There is the beginning of a storyline as the girls escape confinement with Victoria's theft of a key, but that eventually goes nowhere except fizzle.

The themes of the film have been used before - and will be used again: girls becoming women is a never ending source of story material. The aspect that makes this little film shine is the presence of the fine acting of Rooney Mara, Georgia King, Brie Larson, and Amy Ferguson. They are a pleasure to watch perform. Grady Harp, March 12

We, the 99.9 percent of the world that wasn't in attendance at the 2009 Toronto International Film Festival, have to consider the recent DVD release of Franny Gregorini and Tatiana von Furstenberg's gal drama, Tanner Hall, the film's public debut. So, despite being a movie filmed in late 2008 and not going public until late 2011, this super stylized drama is a 2011 film, and one of the most surprisingly fulfilling watches we sat for all year.

Staffed with a cast of A-level young talent (led by Rooney Mara, Georgia King and the sizzling Brie Larson), this New England boarding school ensemble flick rolls through scenes with no clear cut story arc, instead playing through as a glimpse into the lives of a group of A-level teen girls going through the way crazy stage of puberty, full blast. Pure fire.

We see details of relationships morphing when the new girl, Victoria (King), arrives and fearlessly stomps her way into the pack or sisters. The crew's soul captain, Fernanda (Mara), is the most powerful and interesting character, and she's brought to life with grace by the Girl With the Dragon Tats herself. It's a performance that could've maybe even been considered legendary, had only Tanner Hall been treated as a major release. Mara's moves are so good that we have to assume this was the film that helped David Fincher find his new discovery.

Imagine if Sophia Coppola rewrote the Little Women script for John Hughes in the late 80s and you'll have a good idea of the haunting appeal that is Tanner Hall. As far as film art and storytelling goes, this is one of the great surprises of 2011. An incredible mix of design, writing and performance. Better late than never.

Check out more of our film- and music-focused writing and [...]