First Girl I Loved succeeds as a coming of age drama that contains a certain whimsical magic in its romance and a relevant importance in its themes of identity and friendship.

Remember the first time you fell in love? That hypnotic feeling of floating on air, mind preoccupied on that special someone, who you can’t help but act like a goofball when they are in your presence. Director Kerem Sanga perfectly captures that feeling in First Girl I Loved, portraying head over heels love within a mist of purple haze and hormones run wild. He also captures the dark side of that scenario, the self-doubt that creeps in and jealousy of others.

Most important is that First Girl I Loved is a film about coming out as it is coming of age. It’s the story of  Anne Smith (Dylan Gelula), who while on assignment for the school yearbook realises her feelings for star softball player Sasha Basenez (Briana Hildebrand) is more than a phase. It’s a confirmation of who she is and what she wants. While Sasha seemingly reciprocates these feelings, Anne’s best friend Clifton (Mateo Arias) struggles with the news, allowing his confusion and anger to manifest in ugly ways.

To Sanga’s credit, he does not present Clifton as a flat out villain of bigoted spite. There are layers to his actions which are real and dare it be said, relatable. Jealousy is an ugly monster that lives inside us all, and no one is immune from the dark swings of heavy emotion, especially the adolescent.

In fact, all of the characters of First Girl I Loved are intelligently written and impeccably performed. Arias hits all of the raging emotions and confliction his characters deals with; Hildebrand is both sensual and a ball of nervous energy as the prized jock verging into new terrain; and most impressive of all is Gelula, convincingly and heartbreakingly playing a teen dealing with strong forces inside and out that pull her in different directions, until she is brave enough to take those first steps on the right path.

Sanga expertly blends the fantastical with the grounded, as dreamy sequences of love induced highs come crashing down to Earth with every hit of reality. Guiding his story structure with time jumps from present to past without feeling cluttered (with thanks to editor Shane Hazen), Sanga also deals with themes of identity, sexuality, and the role that technology plays in modern day courtship, with an innovative and sensitive spirit.

Teen movies can often be too immature, too cutesy, and too fantastical to take seriously. First Girl I Loved avoids such pitfalls, in the process representing the best that genre has to offer.