How to talk to girls at Parties

How to talk to girls at parties focuses on 3 boys who go to a punk rock after party, only to find themselves wrapped up in an alien race’s visit to Earth. With the main plotline focusing on, Enn, (Alex Sharp) and his relationship with alien Zan, (Elle Fanning). Said relationship is very believable and endearing, as you truly care for both the characters. This is in no small part a result of fantastic performances from both Fanning and Sharp. This is a unique film that benefits from a very strong sense of identity. This strong sense of identity is not surprising considering that, How to talk to girls at Parties is adapted from a Neil Gaiman short story. This film builds upon the source material in many ways, fleshing out the universe and its characters. However, I do feel like the origin of the aliens could have been explored more as I was left with a lot of questions at the end of the film. Sharps portrayal of Enn, is very reminiscent of a lot of people awkward teenage years, minus the aliens, of course, making him easily very relatable. Fanning manages to capture the curiosity of an alien coming to our world perfectly, whilst also being very warm and easy to root for. This warmness is shown in her relationship to Queen Boadicea, of the punk scene, played with relish by Nicole Kidman. In terms of characterisation, this film is very strong, all the main cast have well-defined arcs and, you can see the character progress throughout the film. How to talk to girls at Parties, mostly manages to blend coming of age and the science fiction together well. Although this is by no means a perfect film, as there are a lot of plot lines and characters that don’t really go anywhere. Furthermore, there were some pacing issues as the movie felt a bit too long. Overall this film is very hard to describe, it is something that must be seen to be understood. However, it is most certainly not for everyone.
3/5
Reviewed by Luke.