Gabriel (Alti Oskar Fjalarsson) is 16 and at the peak of adolescent confusion. After a class trip to England, where he's had his first kiss with rebellious Markus (Haraldur Ari Stefansson), his inner circle notice a change in his temperament. At home he's an only child, and to his clear frustration his mother insists on holding family meetings about his behaviour, and then both his parents go through his things while he is (almost always) out. Socially, tragedy strikes when his best friend Stella (Ilva Holmes) commits suicide at a party. Now, Gabriel must stop his and his other friends' lives from snowballing uncontrollably, while evaluating and accepting his emerging sexuality.
Imagine a film version of Skins set in Iceland, and you're pretty close. But Jitters (2010) still cuts its own swathe through the coming-of-age drama genre with confidence and authenticity. Director/co-writer Baldvin Zophoniasson imbues each scene with vibrancy and gentleness, a pulsating indie rock soundtrack, relaxed photography and dialogue that never feels too smart for teen characters. The cast also deliver uniformly natural, understated turns and their characters are all likeable but realistic: they drink, swear and fuck pretty often.
Where far too many teen flicks either try too hard to be groundbreaking, or not hard enough, Jitters very refreshingly and cleverly balances the scales just right.
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