The Moth Diaries (4 Stars)

This is a coming-of-age drama with added Gothic elements. 16-year-old Rebecca visits an exclusive girls school. The film begins with her second year at the school. She writes a diary, and has sworn to write at least one page every day, because she wishes to record the experiences of her 16th year of life. In retrospect, I wish I'd done that as well. My 16th year was the most exciting year of my life, so I wish I'd recorded everything in detail. One page a day isn't much. I had the time.

Rebecca has three close friends in the school: Charley, Dora and Lucy. The four girls are inseparable, although Rebecca considers Lucy to be her best friend. A new girl arrives in the school called Ernessa. The four girls want to accept her into their group, but she has unusual habits that make it difficult for her to fit in. She never eats at dinner time, and she goes out walking alone at night. She only attaches herself to Lucy, who then begins to ignore her friends, even Rebecca.

In literature class the girls are reading "Carmilla", a vampire novel written by Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu in 1872. Rebecca begins to suspect that Ernessa is a vampire. I read "Carmilla" earlier this year, which is fortunate, because "The Moth Diaries" makes frequent allusions to the novel. Nobody in the school believes Rebecca. Is she correct, or is she going mad? Rebecca is suffering because of the suicide of her father, a famous poet. Only her friendship with Lucy was holding her together.

The film is directed by Mary Harron, who always makes feminocentric films. She portrays the girls in the film delicately, showing us the troubles of young girls growing up in a female-only environment. Almost female-only. The English literature teacher is a man, and he can't resist the temptation of being surrounded by girls. He's attracted to Rebecca, and the attraction is mutual. The film is beautifully crafted, with perfect cinematography. It's a film that relaxes rather than excites the viewer.

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