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13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Teenage noir, realistically portrayed, April 3, 2005
Who hasn't wanted to get back at that mean old bully in school? You know the guy: he picks on kids smaller than him just because he's a big jerk and he can. Who doesn't want to teach that kid a lesson? So what if you had the chance to do so and you found out he wasn't such a bad guy?
In Mean Creek, the bully's name is George (Josh Peck), and the smaller kid he picks on is Sam (Rory Culkin). After a run-in with George, who has been held back a grade several times, making him bigger than the others in his class, Sam, his older brother Rocky (Trevor Morgan), and Rocky's friends Marty (Scott Mechlowicz) and Clyde (Ryan Kelley) come up with a plan: they will invite George to a birthday party for Sam, take him out on a boat on the river, start a game of Truth or Dare, then strip him naked and dump him into the river, and George will have to run home naked. They reason that this is the best way to get back at him, because it doesn't hurt him physically, which would be as bad as what he does to other kids.
Also along for the ride is Sam's girlfriend Millie (Carly Schroeder), who wasn't told in advance and doesn't like the plan. George accepts the invitation, but when the group starts to talk to him, they find out that he's not such a bad guy--it seems he just wants some friends--and Sam wants to call off the plan. Everyone agrees except Marty, who's got some personal demons of his own; he's sort of the ringleader for drinking and smoking and things of the same ilk. Things don't go as planned, and each of the characters is faced with a difficult moral dilemma that will affect the rest of their lives.
At heart, these are all good kids. Marty has an oppressive older brother, and harbors some sort of resentment against just about everybody--even his friends--but we get the feeling it's because of the way he was brought up, not because of any conscious choice of his own. Clyde has two gay fathers, and is not comfortable when other people insinuate that he too is gay. Rocky wants to be a good role model and protector for his kid brother. Millie is a kind-hearted girl and just wants Sam to like her and have a normal relationship with him. Sam, played especially effectively by the youngest of the Culkin clan, Rory, just wants to be a normal kid and not have to spend his days worrying about whether he will get beat up. And George is the big mystery; we first meet him as a bully, pounding on Sam, but then we see him in his room with his video camera, and he seems lonely. He seems genuinely happy to be hanging out with the rest of this group, but he's got a terrible temper and lashes out without warning.
Mean Creek very realistically portrays teenagers doing what they do: fighting amongst themselves and starting more trouble as a group than they ever would as individuals. We get to know each of these six characters very well, and understand why they act the way they do, and the performances here are all flawless. Most of the films about teenagers tend to look down on them and make them all look stupid, but Mean Creek treats them with respect and tries to show why sometimes they act a little strange: because they're confused, and yeah, maybe a little mean.
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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Did he deserve what he got?, April 20, 2006
I had a couple of misgivings about watching a film about bullying to begin with, having been there, done that, got the T-shirt, and Welcome To The Dollhouse (but highly recommended) had a major effect on me. But the cover was eyecatching, but simple, and decided why the hell not.
What's amazing about this film, is that it totally focuses on the main characters. There's barely a mention of parents, apart from a couple of brief shots, and most of it takes place on what looks like a very peaceful river. What's the worst that could happen? It's not like they're white water rafting or something. (Which I thought was gonna happen.)
Rory Culkin will probably never come out of the Culkin shadows, but he does give it his best shot most of the time, I just wish he didn't play the little boy lost character all the time! Even IMDB won't show an older shot of him on their main page. He seemed a little bit lost amongst all the older characters (Ryan Kelley, Scott Mechlowicz, Trevor Morgan and Josh Peck), and his relationship with Millie (Carly Shroeder) is so innocent, it's sweet to watch.
I'm still not sure whether George (Josh Peck) deserved what happened to him or not. And the movie never really says either, it's left hanging as to what happens to all the kids, and lets the viewers make up their own minds. But George did have the ability to push people too far. What would you do in that situation? As it says in Mean Creek, if you could snap your fingers and they would drop dead, would you? It's a very difficult question to ask.
I thought the film started to drag towards the end, after what happened to George, happened, and they all went home. It could have been edited a little better there, but I suppose it kept the suspense going.
Mean Creek definitely comes highly recommended, and stands head & shoulders above the other teen movies. It's got an R rating, so it's proceed with caution if you're young, but it's a real eye opener, and makes all the other teen movies pale in comparison.
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8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent!, March 27, 2006
'Mean Creek' is one of those movies where you feel like you haven't watched it from the start, like somehow you've been deposited in the story somewhere after the beginning. It doesn't really have an Ending, either, not in the strictest sense of the word. And, besides the main event in the film, very little happens.
So what makes it one of the best movies I've seen come out of America for many years now?
Sam (Rory Culkin) is being bullied by George, a fat aggressive kid. Sam's older brother Rocky and his two friends Marty and Clyde, form a plan to get revenge, and then everything goes wrong. Simple, right?
Wrong. The extremely careful subtext and conflicting idealogies of 'Mean Creek' make this ostensibly black-and-white tale of retribution and consequence one of the most richly-woven stories ever put on film. For example, on one end, you have the truly good characters - Sam and his girlfriend Millie, or Clyde and Rocky - whose apathy and lack of real action in the face of all their protestations make for a nice metaphor about the duality of goodness. Similarly, on the other end of the spectrum, ringleader Marty's in a lot of pain since his father committed suicide, and bully George turns out to have the heart of an artist, his violence and rage coming from his dyslexia and obesity.
In terms of characterisation, then, 'Mean Creek' doesn't let you get a firm handle on any of the protagonists, but keeps you absolutely spellbound with the quality of the performances from each and every one of the kids in the main roles. It's been a long time since I've seen actors display such a depth of feeling and sensitivity for the subject matter of their roles, and I have to say, there's not one actor here that is anything below excellent. Standout performances come from the brilliant Carly Schroeder as Millie and equally good Josh Peck as bully George, with the rest of the cast doing an excellent, excellent job.
Direction is also superlative; it walks a razor-thin line between Creative and Pretentious, but, thanks to the talent of Jacob Aaron Estes, never crosses over into the realms of boring 'Art'. The slow, almost lazy pace of the boat ride and the unclutteredness of the interior shots show a real desire of Estes to allow this story to be seen, and there's next-to-no narrative camerawork to tell us how we should feel. No overlong close-ups on sentimental good guys, no down-looking-up shots of bad guys' expressions - Estes simply points and shoots, and the end result is a film as beautiful in its imagery as it is effective in its simplicity.
Wholly recommended as a purchase, this - while not an easy movie to watch, particularly if you have ever been the victim of bullying, or a bully yourself - is an excellent piece of film that has restored my faith in American Cinema. It's a beautiful, well-made and extremely clever film, and its depth will only truly be discovered on repeat viewings.
Totally recommended.
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