Disfluency tackles the coming-of-age genre with a fresh sense of honesty that helps to carry an otherwise weak and didactic script. There are lessons to take away from this story, and writer/director Anna Baumgarten wants to make certain that those messages are received. Still, it’s a film that feels relevant, relatable and important for the time. Not every generation is blessed with a film as perfect as The Breakfast Club to represent them. For every Dazed and Confused or Fast Times at Ridgemont High released, we’re subjected to two or three subpar, surface level ventures. Disfluency isn’t a masterpiece of its genre, but it’s certainly leaps and bounds above the bulk of generic attempts audiences are subjected to each year.
About Anna Baumgarten’s Disfluency
In the story, Jane (Libe Barer) moves back to her hometown after flunking out of college. Once home, she reconnects with old friends and family while simultaneously grappling with a secret trauma and trying to figure out what to do with her life.
Filmmaker Anna Baumgarten brings a nuanced realism to a subject that’s universally relatable. That feeling of being lost, confused and uncertain about our own purpose is something that everybody has felt at some point in their lives. The down-to-earth approach to storytelling is one that I admire because it’s incredibly difficult to pull off successfully. There are no gimmicks or over-the-top set pieces to hide behind, and the entire story hangs on the writing and the performances. Luckily, Libe Barer delivers a heart-wrenching and honest portrait of confused youth.
Barer is in her early 30s. She’s much closer to my age than she is to the age of the character she’s portraying, but you’d never guess that from her performance in Disfluency. She brings a youthful innocence that resonates throughout the film. But the heart of the film’s resonance stems from its writing. As mentioned previously, the script is certainly rocky and lacks delicacy in its approach, but there’s an earnestness at its core.
In a statement released by Baumgarten she explains how the story was born from her own traumatic experiences and feeling like an imposter in her own skin during her time as a young adult. It makes for a deeply personal story that, unfortunately, suffers from an assertively preachy approach. The term “disfluency” refers to the involuntary disruption of speech, serving a dual purpose as the film’s title. The title refers to Jane’s chosen career path, studying to become a speech therapist, as well as to the involuntary disruption in Jane’s life and education.
Libe Barer is the standout of the film, with the majority of other performances feeling unnatural and exaggerated in an effort to drive home the significance of its heavy subject matter. Remember, this film has a moral, and it wants to ensure that you’re fully aware of it. There is an aura of inexperience surrounding the entire movie. At times that feels endearing, but at other times it detracts from the story’s effectiveness.
Final thoughts on this new coming of age film
It’s important to take perspective into account. As a middle-aged man, my perspective clearly differs from that of Jane’s. While I’ve never experienced the trauma or issues that Jane faces as a young woman, a good story will rise above the divides of age, gender, race or sexual orientation and appeal universally to their audience. Disfluency achieves this by leaning into the universally understood trials and tribulations of youth, while genuinely conveying the emotional scarring caused by trauma and abuse.
Disfluency is a worthy enough entry into the long-running coming-of-age genre, though it fails to rise above the tropes and expected arcs that come with these types of films. The honesty and heart of its themes help it to standout, especially when delivered by Barer, but the flaws of its script and its supporting cast keep it from reaching the heights it seems capable of.
Libe Barer carries the film through her charm and charisma. She’s endlessly likable, and likability isn’t something that can always be taught.
The small-town, lakeside setting is humble and beautiful, existing in a quiet solitude that nurtures self-reflection. It’s the same small-town that Anna Baumgarten grew up in. It’s this sort of detail that allows Disfluency to feel so genuine.
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