Babyteeth (15)
Directed by Shannon Murphy

LOSING a child must be every parent's nightmare, with your offspring falling in love with a drug dealer running it close.

Those two fears are at the centre of this bittersweet coming-of-age comedy drama, an impressive directorial debut feature from Shannon Murphy.

Based on a play by Australian playwright and actress Rita Kalnejais, who adapted it for the big screen, Babyteeth captures the irreverence and sentiment in her whip-smart script as it follows the painful journey of 15-year-old Milla (Eliza Scanlen).

After learning that she has terminal cancer, she meets and falls for small-time drug dealer Moses (Toby Wallace) with whom she decides to push the boundaries, to the horror of her parents (Essie Davis and Ben Mendelsohn).

Milla has to reconcile the sudden lust for life awakened by Moses with her impending mortality, while her troubled mother and father have to face their own shortcomings as they deal with the awful prospect of losing their daughter as well as her questionable boyfriend.

With an incandescent performance by Scanlen as Milla, who will do whatever it takes for love, and a stunning supporting cast and a haunting soundtrack, Murphy manages to combine humour and pain in every quirkily framed scene with great sensitivity.

It is both captivating and heartbreaking to watch Milla fast-track her young life and her sexual awakening while forcing those around her to live like they have nothing to lose.

Babyteeth is a powerful reminder of how great it is to be alive and not to squander a single living moment.

In cinemas from August 14.