Hala Review
R: For a scene of sexuality
Studios: Apple TV+, Overbrook Entertainment, 3 Arts Entertainment, Endeavor Content
Runtime: 1 Hr and 34 Minutes
Writer/Director: Minhal Baig
Cast: Geraldine Viswanathan, Jack Kilmer, Gabriel Luna, Purbi Joshi, Azad Khan, Anna Chlumsky
Release Date: November 2019 (Streaming)
Hala is her father’s pride and joy. Dutiful and academically gifted, she skillfully navigates both her social life as a teen in Chicago and her obligations as an only child to Pakistani immigrants. With high school graduation looming, however, Hala is bursting with sexual desire. When she meets Jesse, a classmate who shares her love for poetry and skateboarding, their romance is complicated by her Muslim faith and a father who is prepared to arrange her marriage according to their family’s cultural tradition. As Hala begins to challenge these customs, her parents’ own lives start to unravel, testing the power of Hala’s flourishing voice.
Writer/director Minhal Baig has been climbing the ranks in the industry, showcasing her wide array of talents on projects that many are familiar with. She worked as a story editor on Netflix’s masterpiece of a series Bojack Horseman and as a staff writer on the hit Hulu series Ramy. Now, she has made her feature debut with Hala, a semi-autobiographical coming-of-age story based off her short film of the same name.
Set in the heart of Chicago, the film follows a 17-year-old first generation American Muslim teenager named Hala, who leads her daily lifestyle as an American but retains her family’s cultural traditions. She loves to skate, dress in plaid flannels, maintain her family’s religious faith, and dons her hijab everywhere she goes. She’s her father’s pride but has a silent distant relationship with her mom whom she never seems to relate with. Life is going accordingly for her until she falls for one of her peers who she shares similar interests with. The problem is, she must abide by her family’s cultural tradition of arranged marriage, but once her unexplored hormonal desires tell her:
-- she begins to discover more of herself, primarily her individuality. The first half is an exploration of her sexual attraction to her first crush and those passionate desires. As she starts going on secret dates in with Jesse, she unexpectedly encounters a huge bombshell that blows the sanctity of her family.
You thought actress Geraldine Viswanathan was the breakout performer from 2018’s Blockers who would just dabble in comedic projects (since she also stars in the TBS sitcom series Miracle Workers)? She is much more than that, for her performance in this establishes her as a forceful threat with impressionable range. With this being her first leading feature, Viswanathan taps into a serious tone that perfectly captures the contemplative emotion Baig intended. She carries the picture primarily with her silence as her various expressions encapsulate the internal and external conflicts she must face at a crucial moment in her adolescence. Like her previous roles, Viswanathan excels at commanding the screen with her assertiveness, and she delivers a powerful breakthrough performance that will push her above and beyond at this rate.
At its core, what makes this film work is Baig’s personalization of a traditional coming-of-age tale that she delivers with the right amount of gumption and contemplation. It may start off hitting similar beats to several films focused on teenagers finding their sexualities, but you hear her distinctive voice through the portrayal of this Muslim family and the dynamic they have with one another. How they’re presented at first may start off cute and innocent, but once secrets unravel you end up in a state of shock like:
Given the decent first half, that well-earned and unexpected pivot in the midpoint injects life to the story, putting the sanctity of Hala’s unperturbed familial bond at stake, challenging her to seek her own individualism, and most of all to write her own book, one set from her own decisions rather than her family’s traditions. Where the narrative journeys to helps it become a refreshingly original tale with an empowering message and thought-provoking topics that many will relate to. Baig does a fantastic job at capturing the individualist values of a first generation immigrant and how it can positively challenge culture, specifically within a culturally versed family. If you’re a first generation descendant of western heritage, this movie will speak to you deeply. It honestly works as a great companion piece to The Farewell.
After the gear shift is pulled, the flaws become varied but apparent. Some of the scenes of Hala resenting her parents are escalated far too quickly where the anger of a character is amplified too rapidly. The emotional beats are executed well but it's a bit rushed. I’m having a major issue with coming-of-age movies where when the “all is lost” sequence occurs, the central character (usually a girl) seeks refuge and guidance at the residence of their favorite professor. This is not the first film to do it. The Edge of Seventeen has a similar predicament as well. Like, are teachers making their homes public for their students? Do they just give them their phone numbers as well? At least with The Edge of Seventeen it was earnest and that bond between Steinfeld and Harrelson was strong and meaningful, but here it feels a bit out of left field. Even during this sequence, Hala does something inappropriate that feels out of character for her, especially given the contextual moment, and that's used as a plot device to further the story and tension between other characters. A part of me feels like that route that the story needed to take could've been more solid… and less uncomfortable. But where Baig drives home this character-driven narrative is so powerful and well-designed that by the end you'll be shouting “YAS QUEENS” at the top of your lungs.
On a personal note, watching this movie made me reminisce about one of my good friends, a Pakastani woman whom I’ve known since high school who used to be very traditional with her culture, but over time, she became very assimilated and Americanized. Today she’s balances her cultural traditions while living an American lifestyle. Now we smoke weed together! So, call that a change of character. In the seven years that I’ve known her, I witnessed her entire shift where she became Americanized. With that, she found her headstrong confidence along with her own voice, which is the same arc Hala goes through. And boy, is it great to witness.
Hala is an emotionally resonant and well written coming-of-age story. Its contemplative direction prospers from its relevant cultural themes that speak true to first gen children who know the pressures of tradition.
Rating: 3.5/5 | 74%
