Buddy's Film (and Game) Insights

Everyone has an opinion!

Movie Reviews

Paranoid Park

Posted by Buddy Acker on October 17, 2010 at 3:30 AM

Paranoid Park

Another movie about teenage angst, but it's worth the watch


 

Image and video hosting by TinyPic

 


Paranoid Park is a really good movie, one that did not get much attention upon its release but certainly deserved much more. It tells the story of a teenager named Jake who loves skateboarding and commits an accidental murder and attempts to cover up his involvement in it. The movie gives us a glimpse into his everyday life, which could be boring had Gus Van Sant not directed it. Van Sant's most famous film is probably Good Will Hunting, but in that movie he aimed more for the extraordinary and I personally prefer his focus on the simple, as in Paranoid Park and another great achievement of his, Elephant. A lot of comparisons can be drawn between the two, especially in the way they both offer insight on things like teenage angst and the line between what should and shouldn't be done.


 

And boy, does Jake make a boo-boo. He is illegally hanging off the side of a train while it is in motion and when a security guard tries to stop him, he hits him in the head with his skateboard. This causes the guard to fall onto another parallel train track, where he is ran over by another train, which cuts him in half. We are shown in graphic detail the aftermath of this. I would advise anyone with a weak stomach to skip this particular scene. It made even me shudder.


 

Anyway, a detective shows up at Jake's school and he wants answers. He knows that some of the students from the school like skateboarding and that some of them go to Paranoid Park, a skateboard park not far from the track where the security guard's body was found. Jake is freaked out by this news and pretty soon, the detective wants to question him. He has an alibi to cover his tracks, but he suspects that the detective doesn't believe him. The detective tells him not to worry, but he does nonetheless. His paranoia provides the foundation for the film.


 

But so does his day-to-day activities. Jake is not a bad young man at all. His parents are separated and contemplating divorce. His girlfriend is pretty but a bit of drama queen. He also figures that since she's a virgin, she'll someday want sex so she can call somebody and brag about it. He has a best friend who's also into skating. He likes to write. He's a mysterious boy; a thinker before he's a speaker. All that seems mundane and uninteresting, but doesn't it at the same time feel fresh and exciting?


 

The acting is nothing to write home to mom about. In both Elephant and this film, Gus Van Sant got real teenagers from almost literally right off the street to portray the characters. Gabe Nevins as Jake is not bad at all, but it's obvious that he's not experienced, either. Remember in Gran Torino how Clint Eastwood hired those lesser-known actors to star alongside him and then blew them all off the screen? That's how Paranoid Park feels. Jake is the centerpiece, and so is Nevins as him, and everybody else doesn't matter. That's the impression I got.


 

But the acting isn't the only reason that it isn't perfect. Van Sant just doesn't know what to do with a script sometimes. His dialogue and setting both feel genuine and unforced, but the payoff from some interactions between the characters do not and I wish that the ending had been a little clearer about Jake's fate. I understand that he meant to end the movie on that note but Elephant ended on a similar note and it was also intentional and it felt right, but in Paranoid Park, it does not. It makes it seem as if a Paranoid Park 2 is on the way and I highly doubt that.


 

But I enjoyed the first well enough. It is chock-full of realism. It's beautifully shot and edited. Had I seen it in 2007, when it was released, I would have easily called it one of the better movies of the year. It's not as good as Good Will Hunting or Elephant, but without one shred of reluctance I say that it's worth the watch. Hunt it down at your local video store or on Netflix and check it out.


Score: :):):):)


Categories: None

Post a Comment

Oops!

Oops, you forgot something.

Oops!

The words you entered did not match the given text. Please try again.

Already a member? Sign In

0 Comments