Euphoria, HBO’s blockbuster series, debuted to critical and audience acclaim in 2019. The show looks at current high school students who are dealing with issues such as love, identity, trauma, sex, and drugs. The storey is unvarnished and honest, depicting real-life situations that most kids confront. The cinematography is magnificent, and it lends a unique, stylistic quality to the series that sets it apart from any other film about adolescence.
The show has been renewed for a third season, although it is not expected to air until later this year. While fans eagerly await the upcoming season, films such as Euphoria might help pass the time.
1. Heathers (1988)
Director- Michael Lehmann
Heather Chandler’s gang is the most popular but feared clique at Westerburg High School, consisting of three affluent, gorgeous, and snooty girls with the same first name. Veronica Sawyer, who despises herself for hanging out with the three socially nasty Heathers, teams up with the seductive and enigmatic newcomer, Jason Dean, to soothe her conscience and teach the gorgeous tyrants a lesson. Their plan is foolproof, and it’s all fun and games at first until someone is inadvertently killed. However, there is no turning back now.
2. The Edge of Seventeen (2016)
Director- Kelly Fremon Craig
Nadine Franklin, a high school junior in the Portland suburbs, tells her teacher, Mr. Bruner, in October 2015 that she intends to commit suicide. Nadine recounts her life thus far: By the age of seven, Nadine’s contrasts from her more popular older brother Darian are clear. Nadine has a tumultuous relationship with her overly theatrical and image-conscious mother Mona, who appears to prefer her brother, while her father, Tom, is the only immediate family member with whom she feels connected. Nadine’s relationships with her best friend Krista and her father keep her going at the age of thirteen. While driving, Nadine’s father has a deadly heart attack. Nadine’s life is turned upside down as a result of her father’s death.
3. American Beauty (1999)
Director- Sam Mendes
It takes fortitude to openly accept that you’ve failed in practically every part of your life, and that’s exactly what Lester Burnham, an unhappy advertising and self-described loser, does: he embraces his failure as a father, a spouse, and a professional with abandon. Lester’s high-strung wife, Carolyn, and his always sullen teenage daughter, Jane, love to express their glaring contempt, and the fond memories of a once-happy existence fade quickly; however, the fragrant apparition of Angela – an off-limits object of desire – reminds Lester what life used to be, or better yet, what it could be. For the first time in his life, the unloved Lester yearns to awaken from his interminable suburban slumber, desiring a tremendous change and a magnificently shameless makeover. All in the name of love, and above all, for the sake of reclaiming lost beauty.
4. Thirteen (2003)
Director- Catherine Hardwicke
Tracy is a bright straight-A student on the cusp of adolescence, if not a little naive (it seems…she smokes and cuts to relieve the emotional agony she feels from having a shattered home and hating her mother’s lover, Brady). Tracy is led down a path of sex, drugs, and small crime when she befriends Evie, the most popular and prettiest girl in school (like stealing money from purses and from stores). Tracy’s environment becomes a boiling, emotional cauldron as she evolves herself and her identity, spurred by new conflicts between her and her mother, as well as professors and old friends.
5. Mid90s (2018)
Director- Jonah Hill
Stevie, 13, lives in Los Angeles in the mid-1990s with his violent, fitness-obsessed elder brother Ian and single mother Dabney. Stevie rides her bike past Motor Avenue Skateshop one day, admires the boastful camaraderie of skateboarders outside the shop, and comes back the next day. Back at home, Stevie exchanges a skateboard with his brother, brings it to the shop, and befriends young skater Ruben, who introduces him to the rest of the group: Ray, “Fuckshit,” and “Fourth Grade.” Despite her lack of skating skill, Stevie is intrigued to the group and desires to emulate their daring behaviour and anti-social beliefs. “Sunburn” is his group’s nickname for him. Ruben begins to dislike Stevie, believing he is being displaced as the group’s “younger kid.”
6. Girl, Interrupted (1999)
Director- James Mangold
Susanna Kaysen is depressed and aimless after graduating from high school in 1967. She then consults with a psychiatrist about it. She had been experiencing hallucinations. Susanna was also having an affair with the husband of a friend of her parents. According to the doctor, mixing a bottle of aspirin with a bottle of vodka was an attempt at suicide. This is something she denies. He suggests resting in Claymoore for a little while. Claymoore is a private mental institution with a lot of loud and insane people. Susanna’s roommate, Georgina Tuskin, is a pathological liar. Fire has left a lasting impression on Polly Clark. Daisy Randone self-harms and refuses to eat in front of others.
Susanna’s boyfriend Tobias Jacobs is concerned that she seems too comfortable living with her institutionalised pals. Lisa has a history of escaping, so acquiring access to personal medical papers is not a problem for her.
7. The Perks Of Being A Wallflower (2012)
Director- Stephen Chbosky
Charlie, played by Logan Lerman, is a freshman in high school who suffers with bullying, melancholy, negative influences, and girls. The Perks of Being a Wallflower, based on Stephan Chbosky’s novel, succeeds as a film. While Charlie only wants to get through high school, he compels himself to participate in school activities in order to avoid relapsing into depression. The out-of-the-ordinary adolescent is taken under the wing of a few seniors, and he’s never been more excited to make friends. Finally content, Charlie dabbles with drugs, sex, and the party scene, but underlying issues from his history send him spiralling out of control.
8. Lady Bird (2017)
Director- Greta Gerwig
Christine McPherson, sometimes known as “Lady Bird,” is an outspoken Catholic high school senior student who dreams of eventually leaving her hometown of Sacramento, California, on pins and needles to attend a prestigious New York City college. With her middling grades and a family trying to make ends meet, attending a public university closer to home would be much more affordable and safer, especially after last year’s horrific 9/11 tragedy. In the end, Lady Bird must find a way to make her goals come true despite her grades, countless college applications, blossoming teenage libido, and a strong-willed mother who is a true mother hen.
9. Waves (2019)
Director- Trey Edward Shults
Waves traces the epic emotional journey of a suburban African-American family – led by a well-intentioned but domineering father – as they navigate love, forgiveness, and coming together in the aftermath of a loss, set against the vibrant landscape of South Florida and featuring an astonishing ensemble of award-winning actors and breakouts alike. Waves is a heartbreaking drama about the universal ability for compassion and progress, even in the darkest of situations, from acclaimed director Trey Edward Shults.
10. Climax (2018)
Director- Gasper Noe
In the mid-1990s, a group of 20 French urban dancers gather for a three-day rehearsal in a decommissioned boarding school in the middle of a forest to perform one final performance. After that, they throw one final bash around a huge sangria bowl. The atmosphere quickly gets electric, and they will be engulfed in bizarre madness for the rest of the night. They have no idea who or why they were drugged, even though it seemed evident to them. And, numbed by the mesmerising and increasingly electrifying rhythm of the music, they quickly find it unable to resist their neuroses and psychoses. While some may feel as if they are in paradise, the majority are in torment.
