In Cinemas Fri 28 Sep 2018
In the subsequent Q&A after the Glasgow Youth Film Festival screening of Skate Kitchen, director Crystal Moselle offered the audience insight into her creative decision making, explaining her conversion from documentary to narrative-driven film making was made in part as part of her quest in expressing authenticity on the big screen. Following on from her award-winning documentary, The Wolfpack in 2015, Moselle’s latest cinematic offering follows the summertime fictionalized escapades of real life skating girl-group, Skate Kitchen, and the resulting tensions and drama that ensue. A fateful meeting in New York subway car brought both Moselle and the girls together, their eventual collaboration Skate Kitchen being the perfect amalgamation of fantasy and reality through the lens of a coming-of-age tale.
Primarily a cast of non-actors, the film’s namesake Insta-famous group take centre stage. Group member Rachelle Vinberg leads the charge with her starring role as Camille, the film’s protagonist; the actress capturing the murky waters of friendship, dating and looming adulthood impeccably. However, the movie’s true MVP proves to be Nina Moran’s hilarious turn as cocky, yet endearing Kurt, a performance worthy of launching the novice into many roles to come. Jaden Smith and Elizabeth Rodriguez, of Orange Is the New Black help round up the supporting cast; however, Skate Kitchen succeeds in its storytelling within the naturalistic and established relationships of the non-acting core group.
Moselle’s direction rarely strays far away from her documentary roots. Scenes play out in a laissez-faire fashion, character and plot development through realism taking precedent. New York is utilized perfectly as the ultimate skate park, scenes of the gang sailing through the Manhattan streets listening to the likes of Khalid exemplify the film at its best and purest. Teenage anxieties and gender conflicts are exacerbated in the war rooms of Instagram and battled on the fields of the skate park. Skate Kitchen captures the insecurity and politics that most coming-of-age narratives address; however, Moselle’s dedication to an authentic narrative and respect for youth culture separates her latest work from the rest.