''Girl on the Edge'' is a 2015 American drama film directed by Jay Silverman and starring Taylor Spreitler, Gil Bellows,

Elizabeth Peña Elizabeth Maria Peña (September 23, 1959 – October 14, 2014) was an American actress. Her film credits include '' Down and Out in Beverly Hills'' (1986), '' Batteries Not Included'', '' La Bamba'' (both 1987), ''Jacob's Ladder'' (1990) ...

and

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. The film premiered at the 2015

Sedona Film Festival The Sedona International Film Festival (SIFF) is an annual, eight-day film festival in Sedona, Arizona. The festival was founded in 1994. History In 2023, the festival was listed on ''MovieMakers "20 Great Film Festivals in Vacation Destinat ...

Premise

A troubled teenager falls victim to an

online predator Online predators are individuals who commit child sexual abuse that begins or takes place on the Internet. Conceptions Internet-facilitated crimes against minors involve deceit and begin with adults communicating with children over the Internet ...

. Unable to cope with her

psychological trauma Psychological trauma (also known as mental trauma, psychiatric trauma, emotional damage, or psychotrauma) is an emotional response caused by severe distressing events, such as Major trauma, bodily injury, Sexual assault, sexual violence, or ot ...

, Hannah Green (Taylor Spreitler) becomes

self-destructive Self-destructive behavior is any behavior that is harmful or potentially harmful towards the person who engages in the behavior. Self-destructive behaviors are considered to be on a continuum, with one extreme end of the scale being suicide. S ...

and her parents make the heartbreaking decision to send her away to an alternative healing center in the

wilderness Wilderness or wildlands (usually in the plurale tantum, plural) are Earth, Earth's natural environments that have not been significantly modified by human impact on the environment, human activity, or any urbanization, nonurbanized land not u ...

Cast

* Taylor Spreitler as Hannah Green *

as Hank Taylor * Gil Bellows as Jake Green * Amy Price-Francis as Anne Green *Shane Graham as Tommy Miller *

as Esther * Amy Davidson as Ariel * Rex Lee as Travis Lee * Mackenzie Phillips as Deborah Green

Production

Gil Bellows explained that he was attracted to the project and said "I have two kids. Telling stories that can create conversations between parents and their children about crucial issues and at the same time hold on to the most important part of any story’s responsibility; to entertain its audience is important to me." Bellows also explained that he worked on the script with director Jay Sivelman "Jay was very collaborative in the development stage and embraced the give and take of my ideas and input." On his role, Bellows added that the hardest part was "playing a loving, caring parent who doesn’t have all the answers and is suffering along with his daughter was challenging, but is also what drew me to be in this film."

Reception

Radio Times ''Radio Times'' is a British weekly listings magazine devoted to television and radio programme schedules, with other features such as interviews, film reviews and lifestyle items. Founded in September 1923 by John Reith, then general manage ...

'' awarded the film three stars out of five. In his ''

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'' review, Lloyd I. Sederer praises ''Girl on the Edge'' for its sensitive portrayal of trauma and recovery, emphasizing the film’s ability to offer hope to struggling families. He highlights the universal principles of healing—trust, perseverance, and a supportive community—while acknowledging that financial privilege can make treatment more accessible. However, he argues that the film’s message extends beyond wealth, illustrating the essential elements needed for recovery from mental health and addiction challenges. As Sederer concludes, "We see that portrayed with care in ''Girl on the Edge''. That's a message so many families need to see, and this film offers them a story to believe in."

References

External links

* * American drama films 2015 drama films 2015 films 2010s English-language films 2010s American films {{2010s-US-film-stub