Luckiest Girl Alive (2022)
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A successful magazine columnist must confront a traumatic past involving a school shooting and a hidden history of sexual assault.
The story
In 2015, TifAni "Ani" FaNelli is a respected New York women's magazine columnist who appears to have a perfect life. As she prepares to marry her fiancé, Luke, she meets with a documentary director, Aaron Wickersham, who is filming a project about a 1999 school shooting she survived as a teenager. While Ani initially declines to be involved, Aaron reveals that a former classmate, Dean Barton, has agreed to participate. As Ani navigates her upcoming marriage and a strained relationship with her mother, her past begins to haunt her, creating tension in her current life.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
In 2015, TifAni "Ani" FaNelli, a respected New York women's magazine columnist, appears to have a picture-perfect life. While preparing to marry Luke Harrison, she meets documentary director Aaron Wickersham, who is filming a piece on a 1999 school shooting she survived. Ani initially refuses to participate, but later agrees to meet with a former classmate, Dean Barton, under specific conditions. Flashbacks reveal that during her time at the Brentley School, Ani was gang-raped by three boys, including Dean. Following the incident, Dean started a rumor that Ani helped plan a school shooting perpetrated by another student, Arthur, leading to her being shunned by her community and her mother, Dina. The shooting resulted in the deaths of two boys and left Dean severely wounded. Years later, Ani meets Dean, who shows no remorse and threatens to expose her involvement in the shooting. However, Ani secretly records him admitting he raped her. She decides to write a piece for The New York Times about her experience. At her rehearsal dinner, she chooses not to marry Luke, admitting she used him to hide from her past. She ultimately begins her career at The New York Times, receiving support from other women sharing their own stories of assault.
- First release year
- 2022
- Runtime (minutes)
- 113
- Production countries
- United States; Australia
- Original languages
- English
- Directors
- Mike Barker
- Writers
- Jessica Knoll · screenplay
- Cast and characters
- Mila Kunis · TifAni "Ani" FaNelli; Finn Wittrock; Scoot McNairy; Chiara Aurelia; Justine Lupe; Thomas Barbusca; Jennifer Beals; Connie Britton
- Genres
- mystery; thriller
- Themes
- sexual assault; trauma; reconciliation; truth-telling
- Tone and mood
- mystery; thriller; dramatic
- Premise and plot tags
- based on a novel; true crime elements; women's stories
- Source material / true-story basis
- 2015 novel by Jessica Knoll
- Content notes
- school violence
- Reception
- The film received mixed or average reviews, with a 42% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes and a score of 54 out of 100 on Metacritic. Critics noted that while Mila Kunis gave a strong performance, the treatment risked trivializing its themes.
- Reported review scores
- Rotten Tomatoes · score: 42% · review count: 55; Metacritic · score: 54 · scale: 100 · review count: 15
- Production trivia
- Principal photography took place in Toronto, Canada, and New York City, USA.; The film was released in select cinemas before its streaming debut on Netflix.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
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