Crazy About One Direction

From Beatlemaniacs to Brossettes to Take Thatters, there’s nothing inherently remarkable about adolescent girls going crazy over some nice-looking guys in a beat combo. But what makes Directioners – the frenzied fans of Harry Styles et al – noteworthy is the technology they can now access and manipulate to express their love.

Daisy Asquith’s faintly baffled but pleasingly non-judgmental documentary meets some of these girls as they stalk the boys, obsess over their lives to the point of manufacturing gay relationships within the band and make vague promises about the lengths to which they would go to meet them. ‘I wouldn’t kill a puppy, but I’d probably kill a cat,’ reckons one. ‘I’d go to jail just to be with him [Styles],’ remarks another.

It’s when this infatuation curdles into disappointment and resentment that things take a more sinister turn, especially as Twitter and Facebook theoretically offer a direct line to their objects of desire. But, even as Asquith strives to keep things light, it’s hard not to perceive the loneliness and vulnerability of many of these teens: social media can be as isolating as it is inclusive.