A Light Beneath Their Feet

Gloria Gerringson (Taryn Manning) is recovering from a mental breakdown and gets a cafeteria job at her daughter Beth (Madison Davenport)'s high school. Beth wants to go away to college but she is conflicted about leaving her bi-polar mother alone. Daschulla (Maddie Hasson) eavesdrops on her father psychiatrist Dr. Rutter (Kurt Fuller)'s sessions with Gloria. Jeremy (Carter Jenkins) is a notorious student after a scandal sleeping with his teacher. Beth likes Jeremy which makes jealous Daschulla vengeful.

Manning and Davenport deliver a couple of great performances. The movie would be a great indie favorite if it stayed away from some of the other stuff. There is no real need for the scandal related to Jeremy. He's fine as a loner outsider. The extra layer makes it more like Dawson's Creek and less serious. Her co-worker is unnecessary. Daschulla's character doesn't have to be a goth emo girl struggling with daddy issues. She could be a simple mean girl and there's no reason not to combine her with the mean girl in the movie. This would be improved with some simplifications.