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Some young people are just more goal-oriented than others. They set goals at a young age and make a detailed plan for achieving them. And in Everything to Me, a girl growing up during the rise of Silicon Valley is driven to make her dreams of tech greatness come true.
Everything to Me stars Abigail Donaghy as Claudia Lerner, a teenager living in Silicon Valley at the height of the reign of Apple innovator Steve Jobs. After moving to the area with her parents in the late ‘90s, Claudia became obsessed with Jobs—determined to grow up to be him. So she spends her teen years studying and planning, set on going to Stanford to study computer science—to innovate and create and share her genius with the world, just like he did—and she rejects anyone who doesn’t see the world like she does.
The film follows Claudia as she grows up in the center of this international tech hub, viewing all of the usual milestones—from friendships to senior prom—through a Jobs-skewed lens. Claudia is not an easy character to like. She may be smart and driven, but she often comes off as obsessive and anxious and high-strung—even robotic. She responds to every situation with a quote from her hero—and whenever she faces a challenge in life, she asks herself “What would Steve do?” It’s how she gets herself through every personal crisis—from her parents’ divorce to her mother’s cancer diagnosis. But instead of inspiring, it’s more than a little troubling.
Really, it’s difficult to watch Claudia go through all of these experiences—because while she may sometimes seem entirely positive and upbeat, ready to tackle each challenge with enthusiasm, it’s clear that she’s just going through the motions. She’s responding to the pressures and expectations of teenage life by following this very detailed plan, by checking off the boxes. It’s her defense mechanism—and it soon becomes painfully clear that it’s her way of avoiding real life and real emotions. And while most of us have known people like this at some point, it doesn’t make it any easier to watch this earnest young girl go through it.
Everything to Me is a coming-of-age story in a high-tech era—the story of a girl’s attempt to escape the hard parts of life by creating a very specific checklist. It’s an honest and sincere story—but the character’s avoidance of emotions sometimes makes it feel distant.
You can follow Claudia on her mission when Everything to Me arrives in theaters on September 5, 2025.
Listen to the review on Reel Discovery:
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