Lena Dunham in Tommy Dorfman

From left: Cole Sprouse, Corey Fogelmanis and Alexandra Daddario in “Wishing You All the Best.”

ACE Entertainment

When Ben DeBacker (Corey Fogelmanis), the non-binary protagonist in Tommy Dorfman’s charming directorial debut, I wish you all the bestThey decide to come out to their parents, with disastrous results.

The conversation is shown in flashes, adding a layer of suspense to the sad moment. We see Ben reviewing notes on an index card; We watch them shuffle nervously into the kitchen. Before we know it, Ben is calling his estranged sister Hannah (Alexandra Daddario) for help. The North Carolina teen sits cross-legged in the corner of a gas station grocery store with no shoes or holes in his socks. It’s only when Hannah shows up – anxious and out of breath – that the situation begins to get serious.

Premiere at SXSW, I wish you all the best It follows Ben as they recover from the emotional trauma of coming out to their parents and adjust to a new life with their sister and her husband (Cole Sprouse). Dorfman wrote the screenplay, which she adapted from non-binary author Mason Dever’s best-selling novel of the same name. I wish you all the best is an honest ode to the experiences of non-binary teens that doesn’t just prioritize the most troubling experiences. It has the feel of a show like Netflix Heart stopper And it offers just enough charm – much like Josephine Decker’s musical romance Heaven is everywhere – to overcome the more complex parts of her image of adolescence.

It takes some time for Ben to adjust to his new living situation with Hannah, who also suffered from her parents’ conservative politics. In an attempt to help Ben feel more comfortable, Hannah enrolls them in a new school, takes them clothes shopping, and, with her husband, helps them get a part-time job. The secrets and mutual embarrassment that plague their relationship are soon replaced by an endearing effort to bridge gaps in communication and understanding.

Although Fogelmanis, Daddario, and Sprouse give strong individual performances, the dynamics of their familial relationship rarely overcome a certain solidity. Part of that has to do with the film’s uneven pacing. In trying to cover so much ground, Dorfman doesn’t leave enough time for the relationships to fully unfold on screen. The result, at times, leans toward the choppy, sentimental beats of prime-time television this is us.

Ben’s experiences at school and his relationships with an eccentric art teacher (a scene-stealing Lena Dunham) and their lover Nathan (Miles Gutierrez Riley) bring a welcome change in tone and direction. At their previous high school, Ben tried to be invisible, but that proves more difficult in this new town where people take a genuine interest in the teen. Nathan, an open bisexual who coordinates the color of his nails with his clothes, joins Ben’s group of friends immediately. The reason for Nathan’s attraction to Ben could have used more exploration, but Fogelmanis and Gutierrez-Riley have a nice chemistry that keeps their relationship from being contrived. As Nathan and Ben grow closer, Dorfman takes their intimacy seriously, staging scenes that acknowledge the depth and reality of these characters’ desires.

When Ben isn’t daydreaming about Nathan, he spends a lot of time with Mrs. Lyons. Dunham is perfect in the role, as if she was born to be an eccentric art teacher who nurtures people who are shy, anxious, and self-proclaimed incapable of accepting themselves. the Sharp stick The director steals almost every scene she’s in by deploying her signature humor that’s angst-ridden as confessional. It also shapes her character into a person with a real heart, a responsible one who recognizes gender limbo without the condescension of a teenager.

Dorfman is satisfied I wish you all the best With the spirit of Mrs. Lyons. The film prides itself on its honesty, and despite its flaws, it has a sense of purpose. Dorfman’s direction relies on intimate close-ups and only when he narrates Ben’s love life really distinguishes himself from the conventional mechanics of a smaller screen endeavor. To capture the texture of this charged terrain, Dorfman draws on the teens’ shifting wardrobe (costume design by David Tapert) and uses wider shots to reflect Ben’s comfort with his surroundings. At these moments, the teenager, who was sitting in the corner of a small store, stands upright and moves easily like a person running into the arms of freedom.