Based on the novel from writer, producer, and lead Micaela Wittman, indie drama Remy & Arletta is deeply personal. It’s partly because it’s based directly on Wittman’s own personal coming-of-age story, but it’s also because of how confessional it feels. Many scenes feel like uncomfortable memories, like the way Remy hides her real home from Arletta, but when Arletta doesn’t give up on Remy, and tries to make it right before graduation, the film crafts a beautiful connection that was life-changing even if it was fleeting. Remy & Arletta might have felt cut short in terms of runtime and in terms of the friendship itself, but it’s nonetheless a thoughtful, earnest drama that captures how important that love must have been.

There’s a co-dependency in the relationship, true, but the film has an understanding that the co-dependency wasn’t created because one person was bad or toxic, but because of how little freedom Remy had because of the abuse. Skipping school, making out in front of strangers online, and helping out with lies are familiar teenage bad behaviors, but these become the only ways Remy could carve out some semblance of freedom from her mom.