Set in an English boarding school, Extra Geography follows two teenage girls as they grapple with all the challenges of girlhood: friendship, boys, studies, growing up and their summer project, “to fall in love”.
‘Extra Geography’ is a coming-of-age comedy drama set at an all-girls boarding school in the north of England, adapted from a short story by Rose Tremain. Flic (Marni Duggan) and Minna (Galaxie Clear) are two 15-year-old best friends who have spent much of their lives together and share an intense friendship, along with plenty of ideas about what their futures might hold. Curious about love and relationships, they decide to make falling in love their latest project, settling on their geography teacher as the object of their affections. Their plans become increasingly complicated when the school stages a production of ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’ alongside boys from a neighbouring school, introducing some rather unexpected distractions.
It’s a funny and smartly written film that does a very good job of capturing the awkwardness of adolescence, particularly that strange period when your body and mind are changing and you’re beginning to develop feelings you don’t necessarily understand. Flic and Minna are both intelligent and confident in their own ways, but also incredibly naive about the world around them, with much of the humour coming from the contrast between how grown-up they think they are and how little they actually know. Their friendship is at the heart of the story, and the film is particularly good at showing how relationships that once seemed unbreakable can become complicated by jealousy, insecurity and the discovery that you might not want exactly the same things after all.
Duggan and Clear are both excellent in the leading roles, with a very natural chemistry that makes their friendship convincing even when the girls are being selfish or unpleasant towards one another. Molly Manners, making her feature directorial debut, gives the film a distinctive feel, helped by some very good music choices that complement its early 2000s setting. There are plenty of coming-of-age films dealing with similar themes, but ‘Extra Geography’ finds enough humour and personality in its characters to stand out. I enjoyed it a lot, particularly the two central performances and the way it balances the comedy of growing up with the sometimes painful reality of friendships beginning to change.
Rating: 4/5
Directed By: Molly Manners
Starring: Marni Duggan, Galaxie Clear, Alice Englert and Aoife Riddell
