We've long needed a film that captures youth not simplified through remembrance, nor aggrandized from within, but with a vibrant normalcy of how it is. Here's a "night in the life" teen film that isn't filled with larger than life characters or big performances or particularly witty dialog (though there is some good humor involved), but presents merely a snapshot of an era. It's not exactly a period film, but it is undoubtedly at least a decade removed from modern-day, as evidenced by the tube TVs and the lack of cell phones and computers. It's a suburban world where most of the people you know go to your school and live walking distance from each other and run into each other almost at random. This is notably a film that has no speaking parts for adults, though they are not wholly absent (see the grocery store scene that starts one of the plot threads into motion, complete with the all too familiar PA conclusion)-- it's not that they're ineffectual, they just aren't at the forefront of anything happening late at night on a holiday weekend when you're out with your friends.
That I was the age of these characters during this era undoubtedly colored some of my positive reaction, but there are so many things David Robert Mitchell's film gets right in a larger, more general sense with regards to being a teenager that I have to stop myself from just listing everything in the movie as a highlight. In brief, some of the moments that have seared into my mind already include:
- --> The track runner who discovers her sleepover hostess had sex with her boyfriend and enacts a successful two-part revenge that, in true to life accuracy, has no second part and no recourse after being caught. The immediacy of emotions here and elsewhere are shown in full, unapologetic bloom.
--> The lovelorn braggart who musters just enough confidence to enter into a precarious sexually-charged encounter with his friend's sister, but lacks the wherewithal to do anything with the opportunity. "Better to ask forgiveness than permission," &c
--> The coded gay best friend who politely declines a cute girl's offer to "sit with her" at a make-out spot because he already has a girlfriend, capping the encounter with a regretful wish that she does indeed find someone. It's as explicit as his orientation gets, but it's enough and it reminds the viewer that for as progressive as the teen world seems today, many youths then and now still operate under covert behavior.
--> The pixie-haired flirt who winks at the boys but is still much younger than she tries to be, as shown by her nearly catastrophic pliancy to the will of males around her.SpoilerShowHer ultimate refusal on the water slide to kiss her companion then becomes maybe the biggest personal victory of the night for any character, for her climax isn't whether she does or doesn't get the guy, it's that she realizes she's the one who has the say.
Be warned that the trailer for this one is deceptive and makes the film look far more amateurish and awkward than it is. Mumblecore this is not. The dialog is accurate and well-tuned, but unlikely to be the result of improvisation on the parts of the non-professional actors which populate the film. The acting isn't powerhouse or functional but lived in and accurate. Beyond the strength of the characters and the way their stories intertwine, one of the film's most apparent virtues is its calm, gorgeous cinematography-- generally restrained, but willing to explode with an occasional striking vantage (the extremely close profile shot of the track runner with the shooting star cascading past her face is particularly lovely). It's a shame this won't ever make it to Blu-ray, but it can at least be enjoyed in HD now via IFC's On Demand.
