This is an advance review out of the Toronto International Film Festival.
Jonah Hill’s impressive directorial debut Mid90s is full of heart, fun and a sense of longing to belong somewhere that will surely resonate resonate with audiences. Hill explores adolescence and the idea of trying to find your tribe, of doing anything to fit in and the satisfaction we get when we feel like we belong. It is also a very funny movie, with some pitch-dark moments.
Mid90s actually begins, though, like a horror movie. We look into the narrow hallway of a run-down house as Stevie (Sunny Suljic) is thrown out of a room by his older brother Ian (Lucas Hedges, in a much meaner role than we have seen him in before). Ian is beating Stevie like a ton of bricks, and the sound design amplifies each punch to do as much audible damage to the audience as they do psychological damage to Stevie. Yet as soon as Ian leaves, Stevie enters his room, admiring his brother’s posters, music collection, and lifting his weights just to feel what it would be like to be Ian. Despite the constant beatings and abuse, Stevie idolizes his brother because he is desperate for a role model.
Source: IGN.com Mid90s Review: Jonah Hill's Directorial Debut