Do you know how to make a perfect drink for a woman? It’s simple. Add some morality, restrictions, and etiquette (majorly shyness). Then give it a thorough mix until fully blended. Don’t forget to garnish it with a cherry, for they shouldn’t lose their innocence. Hand over the drink to them, but ask them not to make any noise while sipping it because it’s annoying whenever they voice anything. Please refill the glass over and over again till they are used to its bitterness. The recipe feels familiar, right? So does the movie Girls Will Be Girls, as it carefully navigates a woman’s world.

The Sundance Film Festival 2024 winner, Girls Will Be Girls, is a story of us all as we traversed from girlhood to womanhood. Set in a boarding school in the Himalayan foothills, the movie is centred around the life of an 18-year-old Mira exploring her teenage self. Is the movie worth a watch? Read the review of Girls Will Be Girls to know more.

The (un)conventional story

The movie opens with Mira (Preeti Panigrahi) bagging the badge of the Head Prefect of her school. Being her parents’ ideal child, this position adds to the burden of being ‘perfect’. However, she’s anything but that as she juggles between everyone’s expectations and her growing inner desires. Fascinated by the new guy in her astronomy class, Srinivas (Kesav Binoy), Mira finds it difficult to keep the secret from her strict mother, Anila (Kani Kusruti). After all, guys are a distraction for teenage girls, or that’s what we have always been told by our mothers too.

Cut to Anila, a pretentious coming-of-age mother who imposes conventional rules on Mira to ‘protect’ her while her father lives away for work. She confronts Mira about Srinivas and calls him home. However, her motherly instincts seem to fade when she feels an unusual attraction towards Srinivas, which takes her back to her own teen years. As Mira and Srinivas explore their sexual desires, Anila finds ways to keep them apart. Is she really trying to protect Mira? Or is it her intrinsic loneliness that attracts her to her daughter’s boyfriend?

Why is it the story of all of us?

Girls Will Be Girls is a raw portrayal of every teenage girl. The movie seems predictable for a second when it puts familiar restrictions we face in the school. A braided hairstyle, no kajal, pulled-up socks, knee-length skirts, and whatnot because these behaviours ‘attract’ guys. But it catches us off-guard the next minute when Mira engages in intimacy that’s out of her prescribed curriculum. The slow simmer soon turns into an engaging watch as you get invested in Mira’s life and her mother’s intentions. Anila represents all the mothers who (un)intentionally feed their daughters the same medicine that they were forced to swallow during their youth. Mira mirrors our inner rebellious selves that are repeatedly asked to calm down or ignore the injustice for our own good.

What about the screenplay?

Directed by Shuchi Talati, Girls Will Be Girls is a remarkable debut production of actors Ali Fazal and Richa Chadha. Preeti Panigrahi is spectacular in the movie as she takes the tough role confidently. Her acting wonderfully detangles the complicated story for us. Another new face, Kesav Binoy Kiron, was a delight to watch on screen. On the other hand, Kani Kusruti’s craft deserves accolades as it did in her previous film, All We Imagine As Light. The movie is a slow burn as it follows a layered story. However, it speaks to you every minute as it delivers a compelling narrative. The movie stars Devika Shahni, Akash Pramanik, Aman Desai, Kajol Chugh, and Jitin Gulati in the supporting cast.

Girls Will Be Girls is now streaming on Amazon Prime Video.

Can you watch it with your family?: The movie contains explicit sexual content, which can get a bit awkward for a family to watch.

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Related: All We Imagine As Light: The Women Of This Film Are All Of Us