‘Hala': Muslim-American Tale is a Vital and Unique Addition to the Coming-of-Age Genre [Review]

Films based on a teenager trying to break through the restrictive barriers of his/her parent’s religious upbringing isn’t anything new in cinema. However, Minhal Baig‘s “Hala” is unique because it tackles a gifted, hijab-wearing, skateboarding Pakistani student (Geraldine Viswanathan) who tries to navigate both her duties as a Muslim and her academic social life. The complications which eventually arise in Baig’s film can be deemed to be of the conventional kind, but, regardless, under Baig’s watchful cinematic eyes, “Hala” ends up feeling fresh and authentic.

Baig’s camera relates, in such intense ways, to Hala’s on-screen plights. Her sudden and out-of-the-blue romance with Jesse (Jack Kilmer) energizes her rebellious side even further, pushing away the restrictions which come with her religion, not to mention the arranged marriage dad has in mind for her. It doesn’t help that the disintegrating marriage of her own parents, threatened by dad’s infidelities with a white co-worker, only make Hala’s life even more complicated. If anything, it further sparks this young rebel’s quest and commitment to build a life as a free woman, in a religion that doesn’t allow it.

Expanded from Baig’s similarly titled 2016 short film, the Muslim-American-female perspective in “Hala” is unique, bringing a much-needed take to the coming-of-age genre. Despite the viewer potentially being world’s apart from Hala’s intense, Islamic-oriented world, there’s a relatability to her trials that can’t help but hit home. Viswanathan (“Blockers”) proves to be a formidable actress, showcasing a woman trying to take the liberties that come in living as a woman in America and creating her own destiny, free of restrictions. “Hala” is vital, unique and unforgettable. [B]