Didi Review: Elevated Coming-of-Age

Sean Wang replicates the pain, humor, and confusing feelings of childhood within every viewer of this competently made, sophisticated drama.

Didi, the 2024 coming-of-age stand out of Sundance, is written and directed by Sean Wang. The film is inspired by his own life, and when such personal material is executed with the craft and detail as it is here, one may wish the film began with a warning label. “Viewer discretion advised: this can and will bring you back to the most terrifying, awkward, pathetic, lonesome years of your life.” While it may not sound like it, trust me, that’s an impressive feat to enjoy as a cringing viewer.

Didi stars the fantastic Izzaac Wang as Chris Wang, an insecure 13-year-old entering the most important years of his life: high-school. With a simple premise, one might be deceived into believing this is another adolescent drama in a sea of indie darlings. Films like Edge of Seventeen and Mid90s immediately came to mind when the opening credits rolled, a vhs camera displayed footage of some boys skating, energetic rock played, and a frenetic montage of Wang laid itself out with energetic pace and unwieldy confidence. Ironic, as Chris himself is anything but. While the filmmaking and writing proves itself to come from a talent that requires confidence to perform the sophisticated cinematography and daring narrative beats the film successfully pulls off, the lead at the center of both sides wishes he was anywhere else. Izzaac provides an impressively convincing performance - his never ending slouch conveys an insecurity just from appearing in frame. The entire film works with this brilliant subtlety, feelings and events just under the surface, as indicated with every line and shot composition feeling intentional to recreate the experience of being a naive adolescent only just privy to life’s hardships, while drowning under one’s own feelings of insecurity.

While Chris remains the film’s subject, the most impressive narrative feat Didi manages is developing a strong thematic message by integrating it’s ensemble into the narrative more than I expected. This broadens the scope of the story, but the potential unwieldy narrative is contained by careful cinematography. The camera will hang on Vivian, Chris’ sister, for just long enough for her thoughts to be read by the viewer. As the older sibling leaving for college, Vivian’s own insecurity, and a unique desire to connect with her brother before it’s too late, is communicated not through overt declarations, but subtle glances, disempowered insults, and awkward hugs. The film is natural in this way, and allows viewers mere glimpses into the lives and problems of the characters around Chris. Often, the film will cut outside of his perspective to isolating shots of Chris’ mother, who too faces her own insecurity as an independent mother being constantly berated by her mother-in-law, Nai-Nai. We see the biggest fight between the two only from Chris’ perspective however, the argument itself taking place mostly off-screen or interrupted by the pillar Chris hides behind. Call it the “Charlie Brown” technique, where the camera remains at a child’s perspective, with adult bodies visible, and their words never fully understood. Tight compositions will isolate characters in their loneliest moments, and in the most cringeworthy situations, a nauseating handheld camera is enacted to make the viewer sick with social anxiety. All of this is to say, the film works holistically. The subtle performances would be for not if it weren’t for a pleasantly understated script. The cinematography wouldn’t enhance the narrative if the actors weren’t providing such subtle and natural performances. Meaning, individual pieces of the film are more than delightful on their own - particularly strong lighting and compositions make this uniquely sophisticated cinematography for a coming-of-age drama, and a comedic script balances out the weight of childhood fear - but when used in tandem, all elements come together to recreate the experience of being a kid. One with the weight of the world on their shoulders, while partially unaware to the rest of the world around them. Tragedy and individual strife exists on the periphery of Chris’ life, surrounding his own oppressive social anxiety with glimpses of potential future complications. In Didi, everyone is still a child.

While the film mostly benefits from this subtlety, there were moments where I was perhaps hoping for more. Greater closure in Nai-Nai’s sub-plot would have concluded the film with a tighter bow, and Vivian truly does disappear from the narrative after her departure to college. However, these elisions could just as well be read as strengths, intentional elements of the film’s narrative construction to replicate that aforementioned elliptical feeling of childhood. The dialogue is often enhanced, and jokes made more humorous, from the fact that we aren’t seeing characters voice these comments. Every insult feels more damning when the camera remains on Chris’ reaction instead of the person shooting it like a bullet. The fact that the audience only picks up on the leftovers of conversations, again, places us firmly in the uncomfortable position of an insecure 13 year old.

Chris continues to demonstrate the film’s impressive subtly and juggling of characters for an effective thematic network. Personally, I found there to be many points in which one could read into Chris questioning his sexuality. Off-hand comments from Vivian about wearing her clothes, the crippling nervousness when seemingly about to kiss Madi, and his cruelty towards his mother all point towards one of many readings for the child’s angst. And, again, it is only because the film remains subtle in the handling of its characters and themes that alternative, engaging readings are even possible. Didi doesn’t provide answers. After all, if someone had the cheat sheet to middle-school, we would all be passing.

Meaning, Didi is the elevated coming-of-age drama for how it replicates the myriad of character’s unique experiences and feelings within the viewer, all to communicate the theme that, at the heart of every soul, is another insecure adolescent. Chris is on the film’s poster, but his family, friends, and so many more exist in the background. Didi is ripe with details to find, scenes to simultaneously laugh and cringe at, and cinematography to adore. Didi is thus a must see, but once again, viewer discretion is advised.