Starving in Suburbia 2014

Two siblings, Hannah and Leo [Brendan Meyer], grow up in a highly competitive family where performance and body image loom large over every milestone. Hannah pursues interpretive dance and hopes to lead at an upcoming meet, while Leo focuses on wrestling, maintaining a strict routine of diets and training to make weight. This relentless pressure on Leo leaves Hannah, who is seventeen, largely to her own devices. She works part-time at a bakery and spends time with friends, trying to find her footing in a world that seems to measure worth by appearances and results.

One day, in Hannah’s bedroom, her best friend Kayden [Emma Dumont] introduces her to a pro-ana blog filled with GIFs of unnaturally slim bodies, skeletal imagery, and quotes that mock fat people while offering tips on skipping meals. Hannah is drawn to the site and asks who “ButterflyAna” is—Kayden explains that ButterflyAna is a cousin’s friend who runs the blog. They attempt to access the chatroom, but a privacy lock blocks them, heightening the sense that they’re peering into something dangerous and secret.

The following morning at breakfast, the family talks about dieting and fitness, and Hannah’s father invites her to join a run, prompting a painful question about her body. She storms off to hang out with Kayden and Kayden’s boyfriend, Brendan, and they discuss college plans. Kayden reveals that Hannah hopes to apply to NYU, which would be near Brendan’s residence, and they promise to stay connected no matter what happens. The moment hints at the fragility of their plans and the weight of expectations bearing down on them.

Hannah struggles to start her college essay and returns to the blog to prove she can manage both worlds. She envisions the forum’s visitors as a real, exclusive club of radiantly thin figures gathered under rainbow lights, with no food or drink in sight. ButterflyAna appears, echoing Hannah’s internal fears about her weight, bloating, and appetite, and promising a path to “lose weight.”

At first, the changes go largely unnoticed. A dress code and a few dietary shifts begin to creep into Hannah’s life, and even when she hits an initial goal weight, ButterflyAna and other members urge her to push further. Her mother notices the changes—the shopping for clothes, the quiet insistence on restraint—but the family remains preoccupied with Leo’s looming wrestling match. They overlook the growing distance between Hannah and eating, and a scene where Hannah pretends to eat a bagel in front of her parents becomes a hollow gesture meant to quell concern.

That night, a former forum member named “HipPopK” warns Hannah to stay away from ButterflyAna. The message is chilling, and Hannah awakens from a nightmare about her teeth falling out. In dance class, her performance deteriorates, and her coach, Ms. Christie [Paula Newsome], urges her to talk to someone about what she’s going through.

At Brendan’s party, Hannah learns that Brendan and Kayden have broken up. She wants to leave, but Brendan encourages her to stay and drink with him. When she refuses chips, he compliments her and she confesses a crush on him, leading to a sexual encounter. The moment triggers self-doubts and a rapid shift in body image, as images from ButterflyAna flash before her eyes. ButterflyAna harshly critiques her for “not doing it right” and drives Hannah to begin a prolonged fast, swearing not to eat.

Hannah’s behavior grows more worrisome as Brendan reveals he’s back with Kayden. After a fight with her, Hannah rips open a garbage bag and eats many old pastries she’d saved for disposal, only to vomit them later. A moth’s image in the car’s headlights is misread as a butterfly—the symbol of pro-ana—and Hannah commits herself to the idea of “ana.” At home, her parents notice the drastic weight loss and argue about Leo’s own strict diet. Hannah returns to the forum and admits a slip, but ButterflyAna remains unsympathetic, and she is channeled into frustration during dance practice, leading to confrontations with Kayden and Ms. Christie, who orders her to leave the class.

Hannah’s mother uncovers more troubling signs: a password-protected laptop, walls covered with cutouts of ultra-thin models, a large number of moths, and a stash of moldy food hidden in the closet. The discovery triggers a painful confrontation; Hannah’s mother tears up the room in distress, and Hannah ends up in the hospital after an outburst. Insurance only covers outpatient counseling, forcing the family to rethink routines and rules—scales and razors are thrown out, and a watchful eye is placed on Hannah’s computer use as Leo’s wrestling match approaches.

In therapy, Hannah begins to acknowledge her eating disorder and expresses it through art, drawing a dark figure that embodies her fear and guilt. The family attends Leo’s wrestling match, where Leo nearly wins but collapses, later being kept on life support after suffering heart failure caused by dehydration and stress. The truth comes to light: Leo is the anonymous HipPopK. The revelation shocks the family and confronts them with the reality that the pressures of competition can affect anyone, regardless of gender or role. Leo dies in the hospital, leaving his family to grieve and to confront the lingering stigma that “boys and athletes” don’t suffer from eating disorders.

Seeking closure, Hannah tracks down the real ButterflyAna, an adult woman living in a neglected house who hoards cosmetics and old laptops. Hannah confronts her, explains that Leo’s death was connected to the site, and asks her to step away from the harm she’s caused. Although she accepts responsibility for her role in Leo’s death, Hannah’s empathy and resolve push her toward healing. Afterward, Hannah continues therapy and is welcomed back to dance class by Ms. Christie, who offers a warm hug of support. She channels her experience into a hopeful project: a self-esteem website created in Leo’s memory that features only positive, uplifting quotes and resources, deliberately avoiding any pro-ana content.

In the end, the film reinforces a quiet, compassionate message: recovery and resilience come from connection, honest conversation, and choosing to celebrate one’s worth beyond appearance and weight, with Hannah finding a path forward through art, therapy, and a supportive community that honors Leo’s memory.