First Girl I Loved (2016)

Seventeen-year-old Anne just fell in love with Sasha, the most popular girl at her L.A. public high school. But when Anne tells her best friend, Clifton—who has always harbored a secret crush on her—he does his best to get in the way.

4.0 / 5

INCLUVIE SCORE

3.0 / 5

MOVIE SCORE

Representation

LGBTQ

Marisa Jones

June 15, 2021

4 / 5

INCLUVIE SCORE

3 / 5

MOVIE SCORE

"First Girl I Loved": A Well-Intended but Ultimately Flawed Story of Identity

Warning for discussions of sexual violence in First Girl I Loved. First Girl I Loved is a 2016 coming-of-age film directed by Kerem Sanga which follows Anne (Dylan Gelula), a 17-year-old who falls for a girl named Sasha (Brianna Hildebrand) and begins to discover her identity as a lesbian. This process is made more difficult by her best friend Clifton (Mateo Arias), who, out of his romantic feelings for Anne, does his best to get in the way of this budding relationship. Though well-intended, First Girl I Loved suffers from serious missteps in an effort to tell an honest story of sexuality and identity. First Girl I Loved does have good intentions--for the most part. If the story were to focus more on Anne as an individual as opposed to her relationship with Clifton, it may have been an overall better film. As it is, First Girl I Loved gives off confusing and at times offensive messages, with a glorified male character at the center of it all.

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