Review: Dirty Girl

I’ve seen Juno Temple in Atonement, Cracks, Mr. Nobody, Kaboom and now Dirty Girl-and this may be her best performance that I’ve seen. We first see her character Danielle climb out of the backseat of her Mustang and glide across the parking lot in broad daylight. According to the director, Abe Sylvia that was an homage to the “dirty” girl in his high school in Oklahoma who streaked the school and looked so happy and free while everyone else around her seemed repressed and miserable.
The movies starts with Clarke (played by the charming and adorable Jeremy Dozier) watching Danielle rock the backseat from across the lot. The two are paired up in a school project and the we see the contrast between Danielle’s openness with her body and sexuality and the way Clarke hides behind his layers of clothing. Her status as the school bike and his as a dude who likes dudes are known by all, but while Danielle can embrace her otherness, Clarke only lets loose safely behind his closed bedroom door.
Their relationship helps both characters deal with their Daddy issues and their self-image and along the way we are rewarded a great supporting cast. Dwight Yoakam, Tim McGraw, Mary Steenburgen and Milla Jovovich all put in solid, authentic performances.