The film follows 16-year-old Austyn Tester, a rising star in the live-broadcast ecosystem who built his following on wide-eyed optimism and teen girl lust, as he tries to escape a dead-end life in rural Tennessee.... (Full plot summary below)
Enjoy FREE movies and series with your Prime (USA) subscription or when you start a 30-day free trial!
The film follows 16-year-old Austyn Tester, a rising star in the live-broadcast ecosystem who built his following on wide-eyed optimism and teen girl lust, as he tries to escape a dead-end life in rural Tennessee.
Leave your thoughts about Jawline.
| TheWrapTodd GilchristIt documents the unexpected timelessness underlying a hopelessly contemporary phenomenon by looking at the very specific ways the current generation of teenagers engage the world around them, pointing out the inevitable, inescapable sameness of the way the world always has, and will, look back. |
| The New York TimesBen KenigsbergA “Grey Gardens” for Generation Z, Jawline underscores the contrast between Austyn’s optimism and his drab surroundings. |
| Slant MagazinePeter GoldbergThe film is refreshing for its lack of pearl-clutching, its ambivalence in assessing what it’s like to be a commodity with a will and a nervous system. |
| RogerEbert.comSheila O'MalleyJawline works gently, slowly, presenting its subject and sub-culture with not just affection but sympathy, a sympathy very close to tenderness. |
| The VergeAdi RobertsonJawline is a nuanced exploration of digital celebrity and the gap between “real” and online lives, issues that are particularly relevant during a mass reevaluation of social media. But it’s also a timeless, bittersweet film about a teenager with ambitious dreams and few opportunities to realize them. |
| The A.V. ClubShannon MillerMandelup does, however, treat both the internet personalities and the fans beholden to them with great respect. |
| Los Angeles TimesGlenn WhippJawline provides an evenhanded examination of celebrity and loneliness in the digital age. |
| VoxAlissa WilkinsonJawline is both disturbing and empathetic, and an important peek into the glory and angst of being a teenager on the internet today. |
| VarietyAmy Nicholson“I’m going to fake it till I make it!” vows Austyn. At first, “Jawline” also feels committed to his rise. Mandelup changes her intention so gradually that the third act of the film feels a little aimless. Still, she’s smart to momentarily give the mic to the female fans to explain their devotion, though the uniformity of their answers is depressing. |
| The Hollywood ReporterDan FienbergIt's an engaging, amusing and occasionally jaw-dropping portrait of a world that could hardly be more foreign to most documentary fans. But it's just those fans who are likely to wish it peeled back a few more layers. |
