Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret.

Director: Kelly Fremon Craig
Starring: Abby Ryder Forster, Rachel McAdams, Kathy Bates, Benny Safdie, Elle Graham, Amari Alexis Price, Katherine Kupferer, Kate MacCluggage, Aidan Wojtak-Hissong, Landon S. Baxter, Echo Kellum, Zackary Brooks, Isol Young, Mia Dillon, Gary Houston
Running Time: 106 min.
Rating: PG-13

★★★ (out of ★★★★)  

After rejecting offers for nearly half a century to adapt her most widely known novel, Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret. into a feature film, celebrated children's author Judy Blume finally gave in. But considering the extent of that book's impact on middle-school aged girls of a certain era, it's hard to fault her for waiting. And with only one of her many works having hit the big screen thus far, she's the rare seminal writer who's been spared the indignity of her stories being butchered by a Hollywood system inept at tackling this kind of material. That Blume founded "YA" well before the label even existed earns her a credibility few others have, deserving tons of credit for holding out until all the cards fell into place.

It's easy to see why Blume thought she found the ideal filmmaker for the job in writer/director Kelly Fremon Craig, whose 2016's The Edge of Seventeen sensitively covered somewhat similar terrain. And while Margaret isn't quite as strong an effort, it's still one of the few instances where we're not left worrying what an author might think about the result. There's little chance she'd be unhappy with this, aside from the disappointment more didn't go out of their way to see it. But if a coming-of-age dramedy centered around a tween girl set fifty years ago is already an impossible sell for audiences, just think how hard it must have been to get this right.

It's 1970 and after returning from summer camp in New Hampshire, eleven-year-old Margaret Simon (Abby Ryder Forster) is informed by her parents Barbara (Rachel McAdams) and Herb (Benny Safdie) that they're moving from New York City to the New Jersey suburbs due to her dad's job promotion. None too happy about leaving her friends and grandmother Sylvia (Kathy Bates) behind, Margaret tries adjusting, as she's befriended by new neighbor and classmate Nancy Wheeler (Elle Graham). Margaret soon joins Nancy's clique, which consists of two other girls, Gretchen (Katherine Kupferer) and Janie (Amari Alexis Price), and a strict set of membership rules that involve wearing bras and revealing the boys they like. 

When Margaret's sixth grade teacher Mr. Benedict (Echo Kellum) discovers her dislike of religious holidays, she begins questioning her mom about the family's history, which saw Barbara's devoutly Christian parents Paul (Gary Houston) and Mary (Mia Dillon) disown her after marrying a Jewish man. Now, as Barbara drifts further away from her love of painting and teaching by volunteering for various PTA committees, she'll have to unexpectedly confront that issue again. And despite talking to God about her problems on a regular basis, an anxious Margaret is not only confused about her own religious identity, but that other girls are already getting their periods. 

If a move over the bridge from NYC to Jersey doesn't seem like such a big deal, Craig's screenplay already captures the essence of Blume's prose in reminding us how everything that happens at this age feels life altering. It's especially true for the kind, world weary Margaret, who's tuned in enough to be greatly affected, her nerves often accompanied by a deer-in-headlights look recognizable to anyone who's experienced the pangs of adolescence. 

Young actress Abby Ryder Forster is terrific, conveying a likable sincerity while taking the title character on an emotionally rocky journey that ranges from crushing disappointment to inspiring optimism. We're invested in her, but the film's calling card are the cringe worthy interactions she shares with her friends, which are humorously awkward in their frankness, rarely evading the embarrassment of firsts these girls are experiencing. Struggling with her physical maturity and religion, Margaret also questions whether the pushy, overconfident Nancy is a real friend or has some other agenda. As the group's leader, she talks a strong game, but may prove to be just as insecure and scared as the rest. 

A subplot involving Margaret's secret crush on local neighborhood boy Moose (Aidan Wojtak-Hissong) is carefully handled, as is an even smaller arc revolving around shy, physically mature classmate Laura (Isol Young), who's picked on for her appearance. The latter effectively reinforces the theme that sometimes there's just no winning for a girl that age, as there will always be bullies ready to pounce on any perceived imperfections. How Craig navigates these waters to end on the note she does is impressive, as are the more humorous moments, such as an adventure in the drugstore buying sanitary pads. 

Kathy Bates runs away with her scenes as Sylvia, sarcastically joking around the pain she'll soon be alone when the family moves. And after initially not making much of an impression, Benny Safdie subtly humanizes Herb when he's confronted with the daunting challenge of again facing the in-laws who rejected him. But it's Rachel McAdams' performance as Barbara that holds all of this together, delivering a seemingly effortless, believable supporting performance worthy of serious awards consideration.

Quietly carrying the baggage of a mom's fractured relationship with her own parents, McAdams plays  Barbara as overprotective but supportive of Margaret, realizing she needs to give this girl enough room to discover, succeed, and fail on her own. She's so natural that this seems less like a role, but a glimpse into how parents sometimes wear masks to meet the challenges of raising a child, even one as good as Margaret. Inhabiting this free-spirited personality, the actress even turns Barbara's obsessive people pleasing into something sadder and more selfless, almost as a means to disappear. McAdams may have been flying under the radar of late, but this is some of her strongest work yet, reminding us just how much she's capable of.

There are two concurrent stories running at once with Margaret, and while they don't seamlessly congeal, both are well handled. More importantly, Craig's script has a voice that not only harkens back to the decade it's set with costuming and music, but also coming-of-age movies from the 80's and 90's, carving out a nice little niche that should still carry appeal for those outside the target demographic. A smart, authentically performed effort that gets a lot of small details right, it's a worthy accompaniment to the source material, deftly handling all the uncomfortable aspects of growing up that made Blume's book a generational touchstone.