'High School' Review: Tegan And Sara's Biopic As Tender Teen Television Drama
It's hard to imagine a pair of sisters more compatible than Canadian indie-pop duo Tegan and Sarah, who have been writing and performing music together for nearly 30 years. But before Grammy nominations, world tours and nine studio albums (and counting) the identical twins were desperate to find each other without losing their connection. Mix that with teenage angst, a weird awakening, and '90s music, and you have an idea of what his autobiographical drama series is all about. And like their best songs, High School is sweet and quietly devastating.
Tegan and Sara's memories come alive in high school.Adapted from the 2019 best-selling memoir by Tegan Quinn and Sarah Quinn, High School takes audiences to suburban Calgary in the 1990s, where twin sisters enter their sophomore year as the new girls on the block. When Sarah (Seazynn Gilliland) starts stopping Tegan (Riley Gilliland) from spending time with her friend Phoebe, tensions rise in the house and a heated argument between the sisters begins. At school, Sarah wants to make friends, leaving Tegan rejected and lonely...but not for long.
The sisters cross paths with a gum-spitting bully, a tough girl with a big heart, and a team of stubborn theater kids. They'll party, do drugs, fight, and find fragile teenage love. Meanwhile, her mother (Cobie Smulders) is dealing with big issues, including being tired of her long-term husband, angry that her daughters are excluding her, and it's either dying or doing something. .
Does high school change perspective like Tegan and Sara's memories?Yes, but not from them. In the first three episodes, which debuted at the Toronto International Film Festival, simple title cards organized segments around Tegan, Sara, her mother Simone, and her best friend Phoebe. So, for example, the first day at school is first shown from Tegan's point of view, fully showing Sarah her cold shoulder injury. The episode then cuts back to Sarah, who is hiding a secret she is so determined to keep that she won't even share with her sister.
Directed by Clea Duvall (The Happiest Season), the first episode cleverly parallels a single sister's lonely journeys on that momentous first day. Then a deceptively simple wide shot shows just how close they are. (This is the picture at the top of this page.) Unbeknownst to either of them, each girl eats lunch alone in the other's corner. It's a rhythm that gently wears away, then patiently stretches out so that the feeling really sinks in. Expanding his sympathies beyond the central sisters, Simon's head has an equally heartwarming time. His lowest point collides with and reflects another theme where the character is forced to admit that despite putting on a brave face, he is no good.
High School is not just another teen drama series.Too often, when it comes to teen shows, Hollywood relishes the opportunity to lean too far in advance or too much on emotion. This approach can reflect the intensity of adolescence, when all those damn hormones collide with feelings of helplessness and reckless confidence in one's own invincibility. But instead of playing all these 11-year-old emotions, this musician focuses on delicate vocals, grounding these girls' daily dramas, even those involving sex and drugs, in a humble original performance.
TikTok stars Reilly and Sissy Gilliland ditched their big smiles and boundless confidence to fully embody the personalities of these shy twin sisters, who look so out of place you might just feel the itch. Although they are gentle, the lyrics still manage to hurt as they scream about the despicable brutality of youth. But whether it's an insult or a punch, these two will always meet. At the core of the series is the motivation of their need to find their individuality and the attraction of a deep-rooted sisterhood.
Tegan and Sarah are giving us 90s nostalgia.You won't hear much of his music for the intro episodes. Instead, '90s icon Duvall takes us back in time with music from The Smashing Pumpkins, Violent Femmes, Weezer and Green Day. Popular songs are played at parties, concerts and makeup, it's like traveling back in time. Conscious suiting sets the mood with timeless details such as oversized long-sleeved capes, a preference for plaid and heavy cross chains. Then there are the girls' necklaces, one a simple work of colored beads, the other on a polymer yin yang chain. These gems also help the public identify which identical twins are at a glance. This is a smart move to facilitate simplicity.
I have to admit, I was hoping High School would capture the frenetic pace that so many teen dramas encourage. I wanted adrenaline, but it was nothing more than putting on a show of dubious standard. After perhaps unfair expectations, I enjoyed this Freevee series, a witty and charming exploration of brotherhood, queerness, music, and growing up.
High School had its world premiere at the 2022 Toronto International Film Festival at Prime Time. The first four episodes will then arrive on Amazon Freevee on October 14th (opens in a new tab), with new episodes every Friday.
