Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret

Screenings

Whangārei

A EVW Sat 19 Aug, 1.15 pm

Matakana MTK Fri 25 Aug, 3.45 pm

MTK Sat 26 Aug, 3.15 pm

Hamilton

B LID Thu 24 Aug, 11.30 am

A LID Sat 26 Aug, 3.45 pm

Tauranga RIA Fri 11 Aug, 1.30 pm

RIA Sat 12 Aug, 3.45 pm

Gisborne

A ODE Sun 27 Aug, 12.15 pm

Napier MTG Sat 12 Aug, 2.45 pm

MTG Sun 20 Aug, 12.15 pm

Director: Kelly Fremon Craig

USA 2023 | 106 mins

Producers: Julie Ansel, Judy Blume, Amy Brooks, James L. Brooks, Kelly Fremon Craig, Aldric La’auli Porter, Richard Sakai

Screenplay: Kelly Fremon Craig.

Based on the book by Judy Blume

Photography: Tim Ives

Editors: Oona Flaherty, Nick Moore

Production Designer: Steve Saklad

Costume Designer: Ann Roth

Music: Hans Zimmer

Cast: Rachel McAdams, Abby Ryder Fortson, Elle Graham, Benny Safdie, Echo Kellum, Kathy Bates

Festivals: San Francisco 2023

Square Eyes Age Recommendation 10+

Judy Blume’s beloved novel about an 11-year-old girl praying to hit puberty has proven a beacon of solace, transcending five decades and speaking to generations. Its enduring power lies in a hugely relatable protagonist, wavering on the cusp between childhood and adolescence—and an unflinching depiction of the trials of growing up.

When Margaret (Abby Ryder Fortson) reluctantly moves to her new home in New Jersey from New York with her parents Barbara (Rachel McAdams) and Herb (Benny Safdie), she leaves behind her beloved firecracker of a grandmother, Sylvia (Kathy Bates) and a much-loved life in the big city.

After being recruited into a friendship clique by her worldly cool-girl neighbour, Margaret must now worry about boys, bras and periods, while wrestling with her parents’ different religious backgrounds and her own place in these worlds. Framed in a 70s Polaroid haze, raw and expressive Abby Ryder Fortson is knock-out as the iconic Margaret. As are her tween pals, their friend group chemistry authentic and sparky. A touching and tender adaptation of a book which means so much to so many, Are You There? shows us generational relationships that balance humour and heart in a film that, like Margaret, curiously asks the big questions. — NM