The Starling Girl Review: Eliza Scanlen’s Commanding Performance Will Blow You Away

A note to Oscar voters: Please remember Eliza Scanlen’s remarkable portrayal of a 17-year-old girl coming to her own in a fundamentalist Christian community in rural Kentucky in The Starling Girl. The film, which builds steadily before surprising you with its depth in its third act, gives Scanlen an ideal platform to showcase her exceptional talents. We’ve seen her before, of course. She's generated plenty of buzz playing a rebellious young girl opposite Amy Adams in Sharp Objects and later, as Beth March, in Greta Gerwig’s wonderful turn as writer/director in Little Women. Here, Scanlen’s sublime performance deserves attention and recognition.

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