This was very enjoyable but I thought the first half of it was much stronger than the second half. I started getting really annoyed with the musical numbers as it went on. Don't get me wrong, the music was very enjoyable and I'm sure I'll pick up the soundtrack sometime down the line but the entire reason the movie was made was to show of the music, it was like a glorified music video. It got a little tiring. That being said, I had fun and Emily Browning was actually quite good here.

B

The directorial debut of Stuart Murdoch, the leader of celebrated indie-pop outfit Belle and Sebastian, God Help the Girl is an unassuming, but sweet coming-of-age drama buoyed by its sterling musical elements. Set over the course of one Glasgow summer, the film concerns a trio of misfits—a recovering anorexic, a fastidious lifeguard, a posh nerd—who find varying amounts of solace in one another and form a tenuous type of band. Murdoch has certain shortcomings behind the camera. The film runs a tad long. Transitions in the storyline could be clearer. He relies rather heavily at times on looped-in-post-production dialogue to convey exposition. Such flaws are compensated for, however, by the handcrafted, heartfelt, and unabashedly literary charm he brings to the project, a cinematic version of the quality which earned Belle and Sebastian their cult fan base. Murdoch has a great eye for Glasgow, too, as his camera lingers on the city's various colors, lines, rhythms, and textures. He also draws spirited performances from his photogenic and youthful stars, including Emily Browning. And the songs, most of them newly recorded variations on cuts from a 2009 album of the same name, are simply spectacular. The lyrics are in turn confessional, hilarious, melancholy, and sexy.

B+

This started really promising but I thought it kind of stumbled in the second half. Was especially not as interested in the final 20 minutes or so. Some good music and musical performances though.

7/10 (B-)