Customer Reviews

A Better Place

5 star:		(16)
4 star:		(13)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

To acces these easter eggs, first watch the movie all the way through once (or just access the last chapter and watch the end credits), then go to the "special thanks" screen. On the second special thanks screen, you are now able to highlight a few of the names in the special thanks. Highlight "The Pizza Guy" and you will be taken to a hidden menu called "Loopholes" where you can access the trailer for the hysterical movie "Big Helium Dog" and a second audio commentary for A Better Place, this time with the members of the pervious commentary drunk out of their gords...fun stuff.
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Click on the color bars. Let them play for about 15-20 seconds and you will view a hidden montage of outtakes and deleted scenes.

"A Better Place" is a disturbing and unsettling look at teen violence. This is a film that is so raw and brutal that it literally shakes you when you're not expecting it. Be warned, this is not a film to watch if you're looking for something to enjoy. This is as harsh and intense as it gets.

The movie tells the story of Barret Michaelson; the new kid in town. The first day at his new school he is picked on by almost everybody. He makes friends with Ryan; an isolated loaner who doesn't particularly like people in general. As time passes by, Ryan drags Barret further and further into his worldview of hate and darkness. It isn't long before things become violent and dangerous, leading to an unbelievably shocking and cruel finale.

It's hard to believe that this movie came from View Askew. Who would've thought they could've come out with something so intense and dark? As disturbing and chilling it is, it's an honest movie. It's not a glamorous film, and it's not trying to be one. That's why it's so effective. It has a raw and brutal feel to it all, and that's what makes it so powerful.

I thought the movie was very well-written and directed. I kind of felt that it could've been longer and that Ryan's character could've been expanded more. But for the most part, it's a very good movie. It reminds me of "Bully," except "A Better Place" is much more "slice-of-life" resembling. It's effective because it doesn't feel like a movie, but more like something that is actually happening.

The DVD has some special features, such as commentary, deleted scenes and more. There are some really cool Easter Eggs if you can find them. (Look at some of the other reviews, and you will find them.)

"A Better Place" is a shocking and unrelenting film that is as honest as it is disturbing. Not too many movies like this are out there. It may be a low budget movie, but the overall product is nothing low, I assure you. Be warned, this is a very uneasy movie to watch. Be prepared.

Well, you know you're in for a low-budget movie experience when one of the opening credits reads "Camera: Ian Dudley" (as it does in this movie). And that's not meant to be a knock against Ian Dudley: it's just that it says "camera". Singular. As in one.

Fortunately, in my world, low budget does not equal low quality. In fact, I often find it to be just the opposite: the constraints and restrictions forced upon filmmakers by a lack of financing can lead to more creative ways of approaching things which might not have occurred otherwise. And though I think that occasionally happened with the movie "A Better Place," this $40,000 flick ultimately falls just a little bit short of greatness (though more because of its writing than its lack of budget).

The movie begins with a voiceover spoken by the charmingly earnest high school senior Barret (Robert DiPatri, who resembles a younger, much more sincere Ed Helms), after he and his mom relocate following the death of his father: "We came here to start over - a new life in a better place. We should've stayed behind."

So right away, you know things aren't going to go particularly well. And boy don't they! After a particularly miserable (and shakily filmed) first day at his new school (at times giving new meaning to the phrase "lack of focus in the classroom"), Barret befriends local outcast Ryan (Eion Bailey), who is considerably less charming than Barret. Ryan is, in fact, so aggressively misanthropic that he favors nothing less than the catastrophic extinction of the species. Not so charming at all! And it isn't long before you realize why Barret might just have been better off had he, in fact, stayed behind.

The phrase "a better place" actually appears in two key scenes in the movie: at the beginning (as quoted above) and in a pivotal (and ironic) scene in Ryan's bedroom, where he and Barret discuss the finer points of Sartre: "The way Sartre see it, if people would just accept responsibility for their actions...the world just might be a better place," says Ryan. But when Barret asks, "So, do you accept responsibility for all your actions?" Ryan just kind of laughs and says, "Yeah - most of the time."

Not too much later, when we see how Ryan handles an unfortunate occurrence in the woods ("we can make this look like an accident"), we realize that Ryan is like many teens who can absorb ideas conceptually but can't yet put them into practice experientially. This turns out to have some major repercussions down the road.

This film is rich with ideas and a serious, oftentimes foreboding tone - it gets a little River's Edgy at times. Its talkiness, I feel, owes more to films in the Richard Linklater canon like "Waking Life" than it does to Kevin Smith's usual View Askew/Clerks fare. It's got a hauntingly, hypnotically effective mostly-electronic soundtrack, and Ian Dudley usually does a good job with that one camera.

Where the movie falls a little short for me is that the generally-solid acting gets a bit amateurish at times, and the dialog a bit too writerly and not entirely natural-sounding in spots. Now, it's true that great acting can occasionally overcome stilted dialog, and that great dialog can often inspire actors to transcend their limitations. Here, however, the confluence of uncertain acting and writing sometimes makes some of the scenes ring a bit false. Plus, one aspect of the ending also seemed a bit forced, as I feel there might have been more plausible ways of getting the three characters to the same place at the end.

With all of that being said, however... this DVD is a gem. It's absolutely crammed with extras, most of them as interesting as the film itself. The three introductions with Kevin Smith and Scott Mosier are hilarious, there are 8 deleted scenes (both with and without commentary), a comparison of the film's original mono mix with the remixed sound done at Skywalker Ranch, and not one, but two feature commentaries with writer/director Vin Pereira and cast members Brain Lynch (Eddie), Joseph Cassese (Todd) and Rob DiPatri. The first commentary is a bit annoying, as we hear for ourselves why Pereira has the reputation for talking too much (A fun challenge: see if you can identify the very few moments when he lets one of the others say more than two sentences in a row!)

But the second, "ultra-secret" hidden Easter Egg bonus drunken commentary is a riot. It is here where you will learn that Brian Lynch is, indeed, the funniest man alive. Also, learn amazing things about topics such as (but not limited to): Toothless Joe's "shaved teeth" (the style at the time), Ben "I was in Armageddon" Affleck's future prophetic nickname, and Eion Bailey's gay filmmaking choices. Plus, did they really kill that horseshoe crab? All that, and guest cameos from "George Lazenby" and Silent Bob!

Thus, while I give the movie itself three stars, the feature-packed DVD is worthy of nothing less than five, making my overall rating four stars. Good stuff.

I borrowed this movie from a friend without ever hearing of the movie itself or of the director. Although low budget, "A Better Place" turned out to be the best movie I've seen in a very long time. Right off the bat I became drawn to the main character, trying to discover what was in store for him, as him and his mother moved to a new town after the death of his father. After a rough first day at school, Barret becomes friends with an introverted nihilist who has a strong hatred for humanity (Ryan). Barret is drawn (by Ryan) into an accidental manslaughter and the movie takes off snowballing to the amazing ending. The ending is amazing because it is very surprising and complicates most of the themes and the overall message of the movie. The film deals with a lot of philosophical issues like the problem of evil, the existence of God, morals, ethics, and especially free will vs. determinism. Overall, a very thought provoking, intelligent, well made piece. Highly recommended.

Thoughtful and harrowing story about teenage alienation and its consequences. In pre-Columbine days, this story might have seemed a bit overblown, but now it rings with a truth that can't be denied. The actors put their best foot forward and the director handles the proceedings with assurance and style, despite the budget shortcomings. This disc did not play at all on my Toshiba player model SD-1200 (kept telling me "disc error" and failed to load), but my Apex AD-600A handled it perfectly.
A highly recommended independent gem.

As a long time fan of Kevin Smith's work, I was always curious as to who the heck was Vincent Pereira? Now I know, he is one hell of a writer/film maker! "A Better Place" struck home on many chords with me. Vincent has artfully captured the fellings of angst and isolation that I so often felt in High School. He shows the sort of things that go on that parents and teachers either didn't know about, or didn't want to know about. Things that always caused my jaw to drop in disbelief when an adult would refer to my time in school as "The best years of your life!" You mean it gets worse? (A quick word of reassurance to those of you still in school, don't worry, for the most part it gets better.) Things like being picked on for no apparent reason, getting hasseled, if not actually beaten up, again for little or no apparent reason. Getting mocked, derided, and put upon, for who you are, or how you look, or who you choose to be friends with. "A Better Place" is somewhat like "The Breakfast Club", but without the Hollywood fantasy of problems being solved in a good happy way, and boy getting the girl, and all that (stuff).

The Movie:
I don't want to give too much away, suffice to say Barret Michaelson(Robert DiPatri-excellent job) has a rough time at his first day in a new school, falls in with loner Ryan Walker(Eion Bailey-another excelent perfomance, this guy has future STAR writen all over him) and although they share much in common, it soon becomes apparent that Ryan is walking a darker path. His talks of (...), soon turn to rants of sterilization, and genocide. And the longer Barret knows him the more deeply he becomes entwined in his life. Barret becomes Ryan's only connection to a world gone bad, his relief valve, someone he can share his thoughts and ideas with, without fear of (too harsh a) judgement. Barret becomes his anchor, and when Barret fimally begins to make other friends, Ryan finds(sets) himself cast adrift, alone with his own dark thoughts, no way to get them out of his system. Things just get uglier from there.

The Extras:
Lots of outtakes, outtakes with commentary, film commentary with Vince and others, old sound to new sound comparisons, and three(count 'em three) intros by Kevin Smith and Scott Mosier(which in all honesty are out of place in this movie, it's hard to justify their yucking it up with the tone of the film, I love these guys, but they could've been a little more serious for this one.)

The Look:
Yes it's low budget, yes some scenes are lower quality, or even blurry, but the writing is dead on, and the acting so good as to put a number of so called ACTORS to shame. Vincent talks about a few more cuts he would've liked to make, and I'd agree with him, but as a whole the movie is well shot, framed, acted, edited, and writen.

Vincent doesn't offer up any pat answers for his characters' behaviors, although he does give us a look at their family life(or lack thereof), as a way of giving us an idea of how these kids became who they are. Justifiably so. At some point you have to be responsible for your actions, but how you are raised goes a long way to how you behave and act towards others. I have known guys like Ryan, perhaps never knowing how close to the edge they walked. I have had the occasional Ryan like thought, but never acted upon them, and they soon passed. Vicent has acted upon his Ryan like thoughts by making this movie. He deserves all the praise he recieves.

As a huge fan of all of Kevin Smith's movies, I cannot help but try to find something, anything, of his to enjoy and pass the time before his next pic. There is only so much material out there of his work, and after seeing all his movies, listened to all the commentary tracks, and read his comics, i couldn't help but try to find something more. So lo and behold, on [a] website I found a post about a newly released dvd directed by Vincent. I immediately ordered it, and wondered how he could possibly stack up against Smith's efforts. And the end result was that I was blown away by this movie. I watched it four times in the span of two days, including once with the commentary track. I even made my roommate watch it, and even though he doesn't particularly like indie films, he was equally impressed. This movie has restored my faith in good filmmaking, especially after an uneventful summer of movies. And now I can't wait for Vulgar and Drawing Flies to be finally released on dvd. If you are looking for a smart and edgy alternative to the big effects laden world of modern cinema, I can't think of A Better Place to look than this dark and disturbing movie. But I mean that in a good way.

The movie is good, but not half as good as newcomer Robert Dipatri. He burns up the screen in his role as a nice guy teenager. I hope to see more of this extremely gifted talent in the future. I was also engrossed by the lavish camera work of the beautiful Jersey shore. The music was real spooky.

Pereira's take on teen psyche in the 20th century was well ahead of it's time. Set along the Jersey shore, the film takes on an almost dream-like state, making great use of natural light and settings. Hats off to new-comer Robert DiPatri in what can only be described as a stunning debut!

Good teenage violence movie, not as good as say BULLY but still highly watchable and especially impressive for a first time writer and director.

Barret is a nerd and on his first day in a new high school he's about to get his ass beat by a jock when Ryan steps in and smashes in the jock's face. Barret and Ryan start a troublesome friendship.

Ryan is a loner because his dad killed his mother and then himself - Ryan found the bodies - and nobody wants hang out with a killer's kid. Barret likes Ryan despite his antisocial ways, but he soon realizes that Ryan really is off his rocker. Bad things happen next.

Not as violent as the reviews would lead you to believe. No more than normal life.