Confessions of an Invisible Girl – Film Review

First off, there is nothing remotely akin to a ‘confession’ in the 2021 Netflix teen comedy ‘Confessions of an Invisible Girl’, which is both written & directed by Bruno Garotti. The problem is, Garotti is still stuck with last century ideas of female beauty. The protagonist is 15-year-old Tete, a ‘nerd’, who moves to a new school and tries hard to start over. What’s her problem? She doesn’t have friends, studies too much and is practically bullied by everybody around her, including her grandmother and mother – for having too much body hair & being a loser.

Even an idiot can see from the very first minute of the film that Actor Klara Casthanho who plays Tete is a total cutie with uncombed hair. The excessive ‘body hair’ everybody keeps taunting her about wasn’t even visible to me. All that girl has to do is comb her damn hair a little and she is easily the most adorable kid in class. Tete does have a condition that makes her sweat more than usual, which for a change was a realistic addition.

So if we discount the 1900s ideas of ‘hotness’, ‘Confessions of an Invisible Girl’ is about a cute dreamy girl, who gets googly-eyed over any guy that is mildly good-looking. She is a regular horny teen, with good grades, and a bad sense of fashion. Luckily for her, she becomes friends with Zeca and Davi, two boys who are also sort of outcasts in the class. Davi because he is ‘loser nerd’ and Zeca because he is gay. Together, the three try to find more social acceptability.

The three kids actually make a sweet group and the makers do get a lot of things about teen crushes, social-media, bullying, parties and popularity right. For the large part, the story is funny, a lot of it is because Klara Casthanho effortlessly portrays the nerdy clueless Tete. The other actors playing her teen friends are charming enough.

Shot in Rio, the movie exudes the bright spirit of a teen comedy. There is obviously some bullying, but quite mild, nothing to get worked up over. But there are some moments that will make you cringe, like Tete making-out with the mirror in her elevator (the scene is in the trailer, so no spoiler really). The background music is fun, and unlike a lot of foreign-language Netflix films trying to vow an international audience, director Bruno Garotti keeps the playlist largely limited to Brazilian musicians and the beats are uplifting, the kind you want to look up on the internet.

Viewers who prefer some meat in their stories will find this flick a complete waste of time. But if you are looking for a breezy brainless movie, ‘Confessions of an Invisible Girl’ is a pretty entertaining flick to just lay back and have a few laughs.

It’s a 6/10 from me.