Parents' Guide to

Blame

By Sandie Angulo Chen, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 16+

Well-acted high school drama has lots of edgy behavior.

Movie NR 2018 100 minutes
Blame Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this movie.

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age 16+

Based on 1 parent review

Niweera
Niweera Adult
February 9, 2018
age 16+

Teens better behave...

The story is revolving around two teen girls and a teacher. Too much underage drinking and substance abuse. Parents should let their kids know that substance abuse and drinking is not an ideal way to have fun. The student teacher relationship is somewhat mocked in this film. In addition, the domestic child abuse is addressed here which shows that a broken house produces a broken child, and adults should understand it and should help them accordingly...

This title has:

Great messages
Too much sex
Too much drinking/drugs/smoking
See all 1 parent review

What's the Story?

BLAME follows two high school girls: Abigail (Quinn Shephard), who's returning to school after an unexplained incident the previous year, and Melissa (Nadia Alexander), a queen-bee mean girl with a messy home life. Abigail, whose nickname is "psycho Sybil" because of her reputation for switching personalities, ends up in the same drama class as Melissa. When Jeremy (Chris Messina), an attractive substitute teacher, takes over the drama class, he assigns the girls scenes from Arthur Miller's The Crucible and casts Abigail as Abigail -- the young Puritan who accuses others of witchcraft -- and Melissa as her understudy. As Abigail's connection with Jeremy verges on inappropriate levels of closeness, Melissa's jealousy will stop at nothing to sabotage Abigail -- even if it means concocting lies about her own relationship with Jeremy.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (1):
Kids say (2):

This is an authentic debut from a young female filmmaker who clearly understands the compelling nature of adolescent angst and instability. Shephard does a fine job playing fragile Abigail, who immerses herself in whatever fictional character she's currently into -- in this case, The Crucible's vindictive, lying Abigail Williams, who's obsessed with John Proctor (or, in real life, her drama teacher). Abigail and Jeremy's taboo attraction is obviously cringe-worthy, but it's Melissa's story that will ultimately horrify parents and resonate with teens.

Melissa's narrative is reminiscent of Catherine Hardwicke's film Thirteen (with even less parental involvement or support). It's heartbreaking and utterly realistic. Melissa is not a likable character, but Alexander should be commended for her humanizing performance. It's easy to want Melissa to get her well-earned comeuppance, but her situation is more complicated than that. Yes, she's flawed and hateful, but there's a reason for her misplaced anger and jealousy. By the end, she manages to elicit compassion from viewers, even if no one would want her (and all her drama) in their (or worse, their child's) life. That lingering gaze between the two girls in Blame's final scene is a powerful reminder that without barriers, without cruelty, we all have more in common than we care to admit.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about the popularity of angst-filled teen dramas. Why do you think that edgy high school movies like Blame are so compelling?

  • How does Blame depict underage alcohol and drug use? Is substance use/abuse glamorized? Is it realistic? Are there consequences? Why is that important?

  • How are sexual situations and relationships portrayed? Which ones, if any, are healthy? What role do sexting and social media play in the story?

  • What is the movie trying to say about bullies? Do you agree that those who bully or ridicule others tend to have other issues going on?

  • Discuss the relationship between Jeremy and Abigail. What did you think of it? Did he do the right thing in the end?

Movie Details

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