Margaret (2011)

Having now seen the full, 186-min cut of this film, I absolutely understand why it was so difficult to cut down to the length that the studio requested. Sure there is a subplot or two that could be easily cut out, but the sheer volume of things going on in this film is kind of the point. The messier this film is, the better it is. This is a film about grief and about being young. Both are experiences that are fraught with wild emotional sea changes that you don’t quite understand. With its highs and lows, this film washes over you like a piece of music with movements and interludes. Though one character in the film flat out states that, “This is not an opera!” it kind of is. The emotions are so heightened that even if you are unclear of what triggered them, you cannot help but be struck by them. By the end of this film you have been through the wringer, and you’re grateful for it. The end of this film is literally the definition of, "catharsis".