| A story of a 13-year-old girl growing up in a new town, with new friends, a first crush, a head full of insecurities and realizing she has synesthesia. Thirteen is probably one of the hardest ages to center a movie around, primarily because it’s the hardest age to get natural acting from; they’re old enough to be self-aware but not experienced enough to know how to turn that into playing a character in front of a camera. | | 2024
Directed by: Nicola Rose
Screenplay by: Nicola Rose
Starring: Shayelin Martin, Patrick McKenna
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There is value in movies about thirteen-year-olds, of course, especially when it’s about how to accept yourself as different and turn those differences into positives. The problem that Magnetosphere has is that there is no plot. The entire movie is just Maggie (Shayelin Martin) showing up at a new school, struggling to make friends, and unsure if her ability to see music and hear colours makes her weird or not.
There are lots of good elements here: Maggie whenever she’s unsure if it’s her synesthesia (which she doesn’t have a word for yet) or reality, Maggie’s crush on an older boy in her dad’s theater group, Maggie’s new friend Wendy, and last but not least Maggie’s teacher who represents the best teacher that every teenager wishes they had, who stands up to bullies, and fosters differences into creativity.
All of those things are just elements to a story, there really isn’t a story here. And low-budget indie films that have limited production means need a story. Without a story, without a structure, the film becomes a long, slow, meandering boring exercise that doesn’t celebrate the Maggie’s differences the way it should, the way it intends to.
Also joining in this plot-less exercise are random characters. Maggie’s father serves a point as the father, but most of the randomness revolves around him with no clear purpose. He’s a theater director as a job? A hobby? Who knows, it’s mostly just an excuse for characters to break into parts of songs and then make fun of random people for being bad singers. I don't know why that's supposed to be necessary. Finally for the ultimate in randomness, Colin Mochrie shows up for a few scenes as a weird handyman/exterminator/whatever, he’s just a weird older man. It’s sometimes funny, but it would work so much better if it fit into a plot.
Magnetosphere needs a plot. It needs a beginning, middle and end to structure a story around. Sure Maggie has evolved from the beginning to the end, which is crucial for writing a good character, but it would be so much more interesting to watch if there was a story. It has a good idea and I love when teenagers are given additional tools to help them see how they fit into the world and how to make the world a better place, but this one doesn’t have the impact.
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