Mean Creek [DVD] [2005] [Region 1] [US Import] [NTSC]

"If you could snap your fingers right now, and he would stop dead in his tracks, would you do it?", good-girl Millie asks Sam, and obviously he wouldn't, no matter how obnoxious George really is. On the boat George is more annoying than ever, a very unlovable kid, but does he deserve to die? "He's a stupid fat kid, and he's got problems", someone says, but god knows George provokes fate no end, and in the end it does ruin the good intentions of writer-director Jacob Aaron Estes. Because nobody on the boat, none of the would-be bullies or would-be avengers, actually strike out, nobody does any killing. So actually everyone escapes scot-free. Which makes the last fourth of the film rather pointless.

Having said that, (and don't get me wrong, it IS a quite damning testimony on a picture that pretends to have moral ambiguity) 'Mean Creek' is quite a thrilling adventure. Writer Estes' premise has a potential that director Estes isn't quite up to. For starters it is interesting what we the viewers would make of an obese, dyslexic kid becoming the cruel joke, but Estes doesn't have the guts to carry his idea through, and you lose interest immediately after that.

So, yes, 'Mean Creek' is inspired by John Boorman's early 70's masterpiece 'Deliverance', but its artistic courage pales by comparison. Much too much political correctness, much too few guts.

Acting is great throughout. Watching these kids interact in a totally natural, unforced way is wonderful. Hunky and troubled Scott Mechlowicz is already on his way to stardom, deservedly, and others might follow.

So, watch it for the suspense and the acting, but don't expect wonders. Just don't expect another 'Deliverance' or even a very important movie.

The thing that defines this movie is it's dialogue. The amount of swearing earned it a high rating in most countries, but the dialogue between teenagers in this film is the best written I've seen in a movie for quite a long time. It's a shame that this has resulted in the high rating because it will exclude a lot of people who are the right age to appreciate what this film is trying to say.

I bought this film recently from America, because it go a release in only three cinemas in the entire of England! It was worth the wait to get it on DVD though -- finally, a movie about young people that isn't stereotypical, Hollywood-ised and badly written, and actually attempts to create characters out of the teenagers instead of some demonised monsters who kill other teenagers, like the kind of thing the media might blow it up into. All credit to Jacob Aaron Estes (writer/director) for bringing a little moral ambiguity into it -- what would you do in this situation? Honestly -- I know what I should do, but I have a strong feeling that if this situation actually happened, I wouldn't actually be thinking about that.

Also, the performances in this movie are incredible. Each of the actors brings their characters to life brilliantly, and credit to Estes for managing to get strong performances from six young actors. Personally, I think the best performance is Ryan Kelley's as Clyde, because it was the most understated of the roles, and yet he created a complex character with relatively little material to work on, although all of the actors, especially Josh Peck, were exceptional. And who'dve thought that Eurotrips Scotty would turn out to be such a good dramatic actor.

Anyway -- I really like this movie, as I said. But I think it mostly appeals to a younger audience, of maybe 13-20. I'm sixteen, and I really enjoyed it and thought that the characters were well-written, etc. but I have met other people who are older who don't think this film is as good, so I guess a lot of the quality of the film comes from your empathy with the characters. Personally, i rate this film at about five stars, but for anyone above about thirty who can't remember what it was like to be a teenager, i suppose it possibly only rates about three stars for you. Every film relies on your own personal reaction though, so see the movie to decide, and hopefully it will get the recognition it deserves.