Luckiest Girl Alive

2022 - 10 - 7

'Luckiest Girl Alive' stars Mila Kunis in a messy adaptation of Jessica ... (CNN)

Kunis plays Ani FaNelli, a have-it-all magazine journalist close to landing her dream job at the New York Times and marrying her wealthy boyfriend Luke (Finn ...

But “Luckiest Girl Alive” falls short of its promise, a reminder that, however ironic the title is intended to be, fortune tends to favor the bold. As constructed, unfortunately, in an adaptation of the book written by its author, Jessica Knoll, and directed by Mike Barker, “Luckiest Girl Alive” feels as if it’s juggling too many plates – joining the story in progress and laboring to connect the mass shooting to Ani’s story in a way that muddles the mystery. [Mila Kunis](https://www.cnn.com/2022/06/24/world/mila-kunis-stand-with-ukraine-cnnheroes/index.html) produces and stars in this #MeToo-tinged story, which awkwardly incorporates a mass school shooting as well as gender and class politics into what becomes an ungainly mix of hot-button issues in one dramatic package.

Luckiest Girl Alive movie review (2022) | Roger Ebert (Roger Ebert)

Luckiest Girl Alive not only dramatizes a school shooting in poor taste, it has the gall to use one as the backdrop while it also exploits rape trauma in ...

Ordinarily this moment in a film would feel triumphant, but it’s here you realize “Luckiest Girl Alive” has exploited both school shootings and rape trauma for a self-actualization narrative that ultimately ends with Ani finding value not in the release of her repressed emotions through this writing, but in the shallow achievement of viral fame. Through flashbacks and Ani’s narration (which is haphazardly deployed throughout as her cynical inner thoughts, an interview for a documentary, and the copy for a piece she writes during the film’s denouement), we learn that one of the survivors, now a gun reform activist, claims that Ani was in on the shooting—but also that this same survivor was one of three classmates who gang-raped Ani at a school dance after party just weeks before the shooting. Ani’s wedding dress is from Saks 5th Avenue (the one on 5th Avenue!), but she makes it clear to her rich friends that her mother shops at T.J. [Chiara Aurelia](/cast-and-crew/chiara-aurelia)), is a survivor of the “deadliest private school shooting in U.S. [Mike Barker](/cast-and-crew/mike-barker)’s brutal blocking of the rape sequence, Aurelia does a fine job in showing Ani’s pain and resistance during, confusion immediately after, and later hesitation to report due to internalized shame. She’s written “1,500 stories about how to give a blow job” but all she really wants is a job at the New York Times Magazine so she can be “someone people can respect.” Ani is engaged to an old money scion named Luke ( [Finn Wittrock](/cast-and-crew/finn-wittrock), given nothing to do), who is more of a box to check towards Ani’s goal of unquestionable social legitimacy than anything else.

Luckiest Girl Alive Filming Locations | solosophie (solosophie)

Based on the eponymous novel by Jessica Knoll, here's your guide to the top Luckiest Girl Alive Filming Locations in New York and Toronto.

Trafalgar Castle School in Whitby was used to stand in for the exterior of Brentley School. Filming took place at several spots on the island, including North Ferry Terminal and a private property in Greenport Village. 5th Avenue was also the first exterior scene to be shown in the movie, where Ani and her Fiancé take a stroll down the street after picking out the gifts for their wedding registry. Bay Street gives a New York City vibe and is one of the many outdoor locations that is used to represent Manhattan in the movie. Ani also works in midtown Manhattan as this is where the magazine who she works for’s office is based. In the background, you can see a Bryant Park News Stand before they descend into the subway system.

'Luckiest Girl Alive' Ending, Explained: What Was Ani Hiding? What ... (Digital Mafia Talkies)

"Luckiest Girl Alive" revolves around the perfect life of Ani Fanelli, a writer at a popular women's magazine, engaged to a loving, preppie, financially.

The weight of the past was lifted from her shoulders, and she was free from the guilt that consumed her. Ani knew that she was on financial aid and that her life could go astray if she spoke about the gang rape. Her mother got her a lawyer when she was in school and silenced her before she could ever confide in her what had happened that night. She decided she wanted to be that woman in life, and she went to extremes to be her. Her mother had dedicated her life and money to her daughter’s education, and the fact that she attended a party and consumed alcohol, putting in line all that her mother had sacrificed, would make her furious. Instead, she even apologized to Liam, who was disappointed to learn that Ani was calling the events of the night gang rape. He took her to his residency and requested that she inform her mother, but she refused. When she saw Dean enter the room, she tried to make some excuse to leave, but he held her down and raped her. After Peyton left, Ani managed to stand up and tried to walk, but the boys would not let her escape. She had passed out, and when she came to her senses, she remembered her classmate Peyton making out with her. She was lying on the bathroom floor, unable to stop what was being done to her body. Everything around her was, in a way, pushing her to the edge.

'Luckiest Girl Alive' Review: Mila Kunis Delivers a Career-Best ... (Collider.com)

If you finish watching Netflix's Luckiest Girl Alive without feeling as angry as Ani, you didn't watch it right.

It offers a career-best performance from Mila Kunis and isn’t afraid to throw salt in two giant wounds that can’t and won’t heal until we treat them with the seriousness they demand. Ultimately, the movie is a series of punches to the gut, most of which you never see coming. You never know what she’s going to do or say, and once the movie starts wrapping up and makes the core of her behavior clear, you fully understand and relate to the character. On the other hand, men get the benefit of the doubt, excuses are handed to them on a silver platter, and their entire existence is perceived as nuanced – and you definitely can’t pin them to a single mistake in life, because they are much more than that. Not only is this explicitly stated in a flashback by one of Ani’s teachers, but you constantly hear Ani's voiceover contradicting a lot of what she does and says onscreen. Based on a New York Times best-selling novel by author Jessica Knoll (who also pens the script), Luckiest Girl Alive tells the story of a magazine writer who’s aiming to make it to the top rankings of the writing world.

The Story Behind Netflix's <i>Luckiest Girl Alive</i> (TIME)

'Luckiest Girl Alive,' an adaptation of the 2015 book, is out now on Netflix. Its ending changed, but the powerful core of the story remains.

“I like that we looked at the year that followed me writing the book and writing my essay and the reaction to it and going on a TV show to talk about it.” While Knoll did change the ending of the film to make it more true to her own life, she was aided in doing so by Mila Kunis, who plays Ani with a haunted tenacity. The liberation of sharing her story encouraged Knoll to adapt the novel into a movie herself—not always typical for authors when their work is optioned. (Later, her mother also rejects this reality, making it nearly impossible for Ani to report the crimes.) Like Gone Girl, Luckiest Girl Alive dissects crime, gender, and class, [reassembling femininity](https://lareviewofbooks.org/article/a-guide-to-millennial-femininity/) through a contemporary lens. After the essay, readers flooded social media with messages of support and thanks to Knoll for coming forward. “What sets this novel apart is the author’s ability to snare the reader from page one, setting the tone for a completely enthralling read as the secrets are revealed.” She’s on edge, talking with an independent [documentary](https://time.com/6218901/queer-for-fear-horror-documentary/) filmmaker about a school shooting that unfolded here two decades ago—and the accusations surrounding it. “But when we reward women for showing their full range of humanity, warts and all, when we give their struggles weight, we allow for the possibility that their flaws and stories can endear, inspire and move us, just like those of men.” Written in the first person, the book itself is predominantly fictional. “You are not the daughter that I raised.” Its ending has changed, but the powerful core of the story persists.