Entertainment, Movies - Navy Times

‘American Teen’ star chats about realities of film

Of all the high school seniors profiled in “American Teen,” none has a more dramatic arc than Hannah Bailey.

Documentarian Nanette Burstein followed a handful of seniors in their small Indiana town, and while they fit the basic stereotypes — spoiled rich girl, good-natured jock, etc. — Burstein turns up more. In the free-spirited Bailey’s case, during an eventful stretch, she has sex for the first time with her boyfriend, who promptly breaks up with her, sending her into a depression that keeps her out of school for weeks. She’s also discouraged from pursuing her dreams by her father and mother, who suffers from mental illness. (Bailey lives with her grandmother during the filming.)

Without giving too much away, Bailey’s much better now. She spoke recently about making the movie and seeing herself on-screen.

Q: What was your reaction when you saw the film for the first time?

A: I was excited just to see things that happened. ... I was pretty emotional mostly, actually, for the other kids’ stories. I didn’t know much about them at the time. I wasn’t too close to any of them.

Q: In any kind of reality project, editing is involved to tell a story. Do you feel like they captured you?

A: It’s a pretty condensed version of me. It’s definitely not everything that happened. It’s 20 minutes of my senior year — one year of my life. It’s not me completely, but it’s a pretty good summary, I guess.

Q: Is it accurate?

A: It is accurate. It is what happened. It’s edited, of course; it’s a movie. But all the events are real. There have been some questions about whether it’s staged — it’s too perfect or things happened too easily. But (Burstein) filmed 1,200 hours of footage. She picked the things that looked the best and sound the best.

Q: Did it take long to get used to the cameras?

A: It took a few weeks. She really didn’t use much footage from the first couple of weeks because it was awkward. There was a lot of talking to her and maybe I feel a little uncomfortable or I’m looking at the camera or talking to the crew, which is no good, obviously. After that, I had so much going on with high school and trying to get to high school. I was much more concerned with that than the cameras being there. ... I did eventually forget about it completely until the end of the year when it kind of became a pain in the a--. But even then, it was like a friend annoying you a bit.

Q: Is there anything you wish hadn’t been included?

A: Myself, what I did, I don’t really regret what I did or what I did on-camera. I had the choice to say no at all times. (Burstein) was very open ... but at times I feel like you’re not getting a clear picture of my family. It’s not that there were many good times. But the one good time of my senior year ... toward the end of the year you hear my mom say, “If you need to come back, no questions asked.” I think people tend to forget about that line. It’s meant to be loving.

Q: Are you a different person now than you were in the film?

A: In ways, yes. But I still am pretty much the same person. We’ve all obviously matured and been through a couple of years of college. There will be change that comes with that, obviously. But I think we’re still pretty much the same people.

Q: What’s your overall reaction to seeing yourself on-screen, the things you did?

A: At the time I didn’t think I was doing anything special or different. But I look back, and I’m a little proud of myself for sticking to what I needed.

Q: When they show the epilogues at the end of the film, yours is the only one the audience cheers.

A: That’s the best part. I don’t really like to watch the movie anymore, but sometimes I’ll come in for the little epilogue. It’s really nice. It makes me smile.