Quartile rating: 7/10 · 1 rating
After starting at an upmarket boarding school, a teenage girl forms close friendships with her two older roommates. However, when she discovers that her new friends are lovers she finds herself caught in a complicated situation.
Lost and Delirious is a sincere and emotionally charged coming-of-age drama about forbidden love at a boarding school. The plot follows familiar territory for the genre but handles its themes of identity and desire with genuine feeling, drawn from Susan Swan's novel. The acting from Piper Perabo and Jessica Paré is committed and emotionally raw, anchoring the film. Cinematography is competent and atmospheric, making good use of the school setting without being visually distinctive. The film's novelty lies in its uncompromising portrayal of teen lesbian romance and its almost operatic emotional register, setting it apart from more sanitized treatments, though it doesn't radically reinvent the coming-of-age formula. The ending is memorably bleak and tragic — perhaps melodramatically so — which divides audiences but leaves a lasting impression, earning it a slight edge in that category.