Tanner Hall (2011)

12% of critics liked it
(17 reviews)
24% of users liked it
(622 ratings)

As Fernanda (Rooney Mara) enters her senior year at Tanner Hall-a sheltered boarding school in New England-she's faced with unexpected changes in her group of friends when a childhood acquaintance, the charismatic yet manipulative trouble-maker Victoria (Georgia King), appears. Shy and studious,… More As Fernanda (Rooney Mara) enters her senior year at Tanner Hall-a sheltered boarding school in New England-she's faced with unexpected changes in her group of friends when a childhood acquaintance, the charismatic yet manipulative trouble-maker Victoria (Georgia King), appears. Shy and studious, Fernanda is usually the voice of reason among her friends-adventurous and sexy Kate (Brie Larsen) and tomboy Lucasta (Amy Ferguson)-but when she begins a complicated friendship with Gio (Tom Everett Scott), an older family friend, she decides it's finally time to take some risks. Jealous of Fernanda's exciting relationship, Victoria begins to sabotage Fernanda's plans and plots to publicly humiliate her. -- (C) Anchor Bay

Play Trailer

Rating, Runtime: R, 1 hr. 35 min.
Directed By: Francesca Gregorini, Tatiana von Furstenberg
Written By: Francesca Gregorini, Tatiana von Furstenberg
Genres: Drama

In Theaters: Sep 9, 2011 Limited
On DVD: Dec 6, 2011
Studio: Anchor Bay Films

Critic Reviews

Peter Rainer, Christian Science Monitor
Codirectors Francesca Gregorini and Tatiana von Furstenberg work up some believable, easygoing rapport between the young actresses, but since the story line is hackneyed, it's rapport in a vacuum.
Andy Webster, New York Times
Rarely rises above the generic, though its atmosphere of coddled young people indulging themselves in opulent surroundings is palpably authentic.
Elizabeth Weitzman, New York Daily News
Ultimately not even the gifted Mara can keep the film from feeling like a gauzy portrait of privilege.
Lou Lumenick, New York Post
The performances aren't bad, but the film quickly collapses into an incoherent, tonally inconsistent muddle with no narrative momentum.
Betsy Sharkey, Los Angeles Times
Allows room for a lot of thinking about other things - its cast most notably, since watching their struggle to move beyond the mundane is painful.
Michael Rechtshaffen, Hollywood Reporter
There are some dedicated performances, but this unfocused drama adds nothing new to the girls' boarding school film curriculum.
Cole Smithey, ColeSmithey.com
A cinematic cocktail blended from the contents of a suburban medicine cabinet, "Tanner Hall" is a girls-boarding-school movie that could bring up the bile in more than a few throats.
David Noh, Film Journal International
Entertaining but sometimes sophomoric coming-of-age drama about a gaggle of nice and not-so-nice rich girls at a boarding school, boasting star Rooney Mara before her Social Network/Dragon Tattoo coups.
Sandie Angulo Chen, Common Sense Media
Uneven coming-of-age drama features sex, drugs, adultery.
Christopher Null, Filmcritic.com
has its charms but it's mostly full of sound and fury, signifying nothing
Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat, Spirituality and Practice
A derivative and unappealing drama about four girls at a boarding school.
Alison Willmore, AV Club
The result isn't bad, it just lacks momentum and a strong reason for existing.
David Fear, Time Out New York
Nothing but a tone-deaf, cliché-ridden mediocrity at best.
Dustin Putman, DustinPutman.com
There is an empathy in Tanner Hall that overcomes its familiar trappings and iffy low-budget scope.
Harvey S. Karten, Compuserve
The story is involving but the character are types rather than authentic individuals.
Andrew Schenker, Slant Magazine
A misshapen beast of a film, Tanner Hall isn't so much kaleidoscopic, episodic drama as underdeveloped, perfunctory multi-character mash-up.

Read all 16 critic reviews

Critic ratings and reviews powered by RottenTomatoes.com

Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)

Rotten (59% or fewer critics rated the movie positively)

Featured Audience Ratings

♥˩ƳИИ &

Cast: Rooney Mara, Georgia King, Brie Larson, Amy Ferguson, Amy Sedaris, Tom Everett Scott, Chris Kattan, Shawn Pyfrom, Annika Peterson Director: Francesca Gregorini, Tatiana von Furstenberg Summary: The arrival of Victoria (Georgia King), a manipulative new pupil, quickly… More
Cast: Rooney Mara, Georgia King, Brie Larson, Amy Ferguson, Amy Sedaris, Tom Everett Scott, Chris Kattan, Shawn Pyfrom, Annika Peterson Director: Francesca Gregorini, Tatiana von Furstenberg Summary: The arrival of Victoria (Georgia King), a manipulative new pupil, quickly signals the end of innocence for returning student Fernanda (Rooney Mara). In short order, the preppy, tranquil atmosphere of knee socks and cardigans at Tanner Hall gives way to a world of tangled emotions among the schoolgirls. My Thoughts: "I wasn't sure what to expect with this movie cause I really didn't know what it was about. I think the summary of the film is deceiving. It's about these young girls becoming women. Growing into themselves and learning about themselves. The young Victoria doesn't disrupt these other young ladies innocence since they seemed a bit corrupt all on their own. Performances were fine, but the story is quite bland and has been done. Decent film, not worth a second look though."

Cast

            Rooney Mara as Fernanda

            Georgia King as Victoria

            Brie Larson as Kate

            Amy Ferguson as Lucasta

            Tom Everett Scott as Gio

            Amy Sedaris as Mrs. Middlewood

            Shawn Pyfrom as Hank

            Chris Kattan as Mr. Middlewood

            Ryan Schira as Peter

            Susan Misner as Roxanne

            Tara Subkoff as Gwen

            Annika Peterson as Olga

            Alaina Steinberg as Margaret

            Konstantine Kakanias as Mr. Tependris

            Lowry Marshall as Ms. Wallace

            Joanne Burk as School Nurse

            Alexia Rasmussen as Gretchen

            Anne Ramsey as Coffin Vendor

            Hayley Goldbach as Student

            Alexis Kiernan as Candice

            Justin Vogel as Greg

            Mark Carter as Attendant

            Michael R. Thayer as Preacher

            Dan Butterworth as Poppet

            Russell Steinberg as Father of Dart Girl

            Antonia Steinberg as Dart Girl

            Collin Brown as Townie

            Tom DeNucci as Townie's Friend

            Lillian Adams as Victoria's Grandmother

            Sydney Neill as Child Victoria

            Kate Skye Netto as Child Fernanda

            Adriaan Van Zyl as Poppet

            Tatiana von Furstenberg as Poppet

            Anne Ramsay
            
See full cast