Review: Skater Girl

In our new series, we at Suggest Nest will do a review each week of the latest movie/tv show/ music album/ book. We will try to make the review as honest and raw as possible without giving away any suspense and also keeping it as brief as possible. 

Type: Drama, Sport
Release Year: 2021
Cast: Amy Maghera, Waheeda Rehman
Director: Manjari Makijany
Duration: 1 hr 47 mins

Synopsis

The story is about a young girl Prerna belonging to a rural village in Rajasthan. Everything changes for Prerna and her friends when Jessica arrives in the rural village from London. She visits to gather information about her late father. During her stay, Jessica introduces different sports to the kids, especially skating. Thus begins the journey of Prerna who finds the game very interesting and wants to make a career out of it. But can she get away from the traditional norms of the rural atmosphere?

Highlights

Prerna, a teenager is stuck in the chores of a typical conservative Indian family thus being bound by the domestic works of home. Jessica arrives from London to learn about her deceased father's youth. She unites with her friend Erik who is a teacher in a Udaipur school. Erik and Jessica introduce skating to the children in the village. They both build Rajasthan's first Skateboard park in the village for the kids. Prerna is keen to play the sport and gradually develops the skills for the game.

But when her family learns about it, they beat her down and burn the skateboard. Prerna's marriage is quickly fixed in the village. When the dates are announced for the All India Skating Championship, Prerna finds the date clashing with her wedding day. She is confused about whether to chase her dream or do as her family wishes her to do.

Positives

The way the story of Prerna is captured in the film is inspiring. Her journey is our journey where we often find ourselves stuck between what others want us to do and what we want ourselves to do. The film has the answers to what exactly is to be done in such a situation. Skater Girl is definitely going to motivate you to get out of your comfort zone and chase down your dreams thus living a life you aspire to live.

The movie is filled with some great dialogues especially regarding women empowerment and gender equality. The scene where Jessica arrives at the Maharani's palace for the funding of the park is beautifully captured with some very strong dialogues that tell us a lot about our male-dominated patriarchal society.

Negatives

The movie is often prey to the element of predictability. Many times the story becomes too predictable and cliche. Like the time her wedding and the skating event fall on the same day is extremely cliched. Even the element of relatability often loses the touch from the film. When a problem arrives, it just disappears strangely in a magical woosh of air. The writers should have done better.

Poverty porn is something one would definitely witness a lot of times in the movie. Since it is made with love for the American audience, why would they forget to add some cheesy poverty porn in it?

Conclusion

A movie that is high on motivation and inspiration but lacks memorable performances from the lead roles. It is worth a watch for its message and not for anything else.

Our rating for the movie is 2.5 / 5

By Akash Vaishnav (Suggest Nest)