The Diary (2017 film)

The Diary is a 2017 El Kadsreian coming-of-age psychological drama film directed, produced, and co-written by Brandon Kane. Set in the city of Capulco, El Kadsre, it follows the perspectives of Lieutenant Michael M. Homan (Alexander Landor), a 32 year-old lieutenant of the El Kadsre Police Department, Mitchell Ligertwood (Brian Hestal), a 17 year-old teenager with a clique of friends, which include Darren Kennedy (Stanley Conrad), an 18 year-old senior, Riley Hackett (Danielle Copeley), a sophomore obsessed with, Oscar Graves (Blake Onians), a Redbubble artist, Sofia Landale (Lauren Szabados), and Ethan Soward (Archie McCutcheon), all of whom were somehow connected to the double suicide of Brianna Connolly (Amberley Claire) and Abigail Montford (Kelly Sanford), a pair of 17 year-old cheerleaders at the local high school. The movie uses the perspective to piece together the often complex web of connections, intersecting storylines and messages, often pieced together by the narrator.

Kane originally planned the plot of the film as a thriller with disillusioned youth, with a dark urban environment and unscrupulous characters; But he was convinced by Estden and Decker to change the subject matter to a de facto taboo subject during adolescence; suicide, especially by teenagers; where in El Kadsre they often hide their depression problems very well, often until it is too late. Kane believed that peer pressure puts too much strain on the person being pressured. Kane also believed that suicide is never a good choice, and not the only way out like most victims belief, and he put that statement into mind when he wrote the script with Estden, Decker and Dominic Mathias in early 2013. Principal photography took place in Capulco between November 2014 and March 2015, and post-production was completed on June 21st, 2016. Production was praised by critics for being deeply realistic, using methods not seen in most movies, such as little to no CGI, and improvised actions conducted by the cast and extras that fit the setting.

The film was shown to critics at the Technic Film Festival, where it was universally praised for its gritty realistic portrayal of suicide, with Jack Minchin of the El Kadsreian Chronicle saying "This film shows us the dark side of adolescence, that no-one is vulnerable to peer pressure from their peers. The scary thing is, this problem is actually real in some aspects." It was released on 30th March 2017, earning $657 million on the first day of release, eventually earning the 3 studios $1.67 billion by the time its theatrical run ended in June 2017.

Plot
In the summer of 2013, Capulco had been rocked by 2 suicides the same day, those being of Brianna Connolly and Abigail Montford, sending shockwaves throughout the city. Mitchell Ligertwood is seen in his friend Oscar Graves' studio posing for deep-fake photos by his friend Oscar Graves, who is an artist on Redbubble, when suddenly, Police Lieutenant Michael M. Homan arrives at the place and asks Mitchell questions regarding Brianna and Abigail's suicides. Mitchell previously met the girls one day, who refused to check out Oscar's Redbubble page that Mitchell was promoting.

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In the end, after all charges against Mitchell and his friends are dropped, Mitchell begins attending therapy sessions to help him recover from the stress he struggled through the charges, Oscar finally gets a job at ETVKK, where he releases his first cartoon, Sillie Squirrel, which is based on one of his Redbubble designs, which becomes a hit, Darren finally moves back to Villamonte, where he gets to see his grandfather. and Riley and her band finally record their first album in dedication to the Beatles. In the end, Riley and her band are seen performing a cover of "Let It Be", which plays throughout the first half of the end credits.

Cast

 * Alexander Landor as Lieutenant Michael M. Homan: An 11-year veteran of the Capulco Police Department, Homan's role in the film is split between recounting his experiences regarding the event itself, and the main investigating officer for the suicide case.
 * Brian Hestal as Mitchell Ligertwood: A 17-year-old athletic sprinter and model at his local high school, he was the initial suspect in the lead-up to the suicide of both girls, due to being the girlfriend of Brianna at the time of the suicide. However, his behavior 1 week after the suicide removed any doubt from the police that he was not responsible since his behavior had shown signs of confusion, guilt, and grief. At the beginning, he was looking forward to the summer holidays, but after the suicide, he didn't know what to do anymore.
 * Amberley Claire as Brianna Connolly: A supposedly cheerful girl from the outside, on the inside she secretly suffered from body image problems and anger outbursts, and secretly took prescription drugs to "cure" it. Eventually, she couldn't handle the stress, attacks, and hate, and seeing no other way, she hanged herself in her room on December 13th, 2012, alongside Abigail, setting off the events of the movie.
 * Stanley Conrad as Darren Kennedy: A Ralander-El Kadsreian who wishes to move back to Raland soon and is a good friend of Mitchell, who was also suspected in playing a role in Brianna's suicide.
 * Danielle Copeley as Riley Hackett: Another friend of Mitchell, who is obsessed with The Beatles and plays in a feminine-Beatles tribute band as one of the singers, under the pseudo "Jane Lennon", she was one of the suspects in Brianna's suicide, for she was a close friend of Riley's.
 * Kelly Sanford as Abigail Montford: Another girl who had body image problems, she was often called an offensive name due to the number of failed relationships she had. Due to this, she often sympathized with Brianna over both their problems. Like Brianna, after her bullying started to get worse, she also saw no way out of her situation and committed suicide with Brianna on the same day as her.
 * Blake Onians as Oscar Graves: A friend of Mitchell and a Redbubble artist and aspiring animator who lives in a small studio apartment. He often made and sold art based around his personal life experiences and his childhood interests, such as Tex Avery cartoons. He has sometimes even been considered, "the Genndy Tartakovsky wannabe" because of his childhood interest in Avery.