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Rating of
3/4
Poetic, disturbing story of lonely teen skater.
filmfan09 - wrote on 01/14/2009
In Gus Van Sant's quietly disturbing "Paranoid Park," teenagers look, sound and act like teenagers. I mention this because it places this film in bold relief against other current movies about teenagers, where teens are self-assured, beautiful and far more mature than any of their real-life counterparts ever actually are. For this I applaud Van Sant, and it's largely what makes "Paranoid Park" such a compelling viewing experience.
The awkward teen at the center of Van Sant's film is Alex, who inadvertently causes the grisly death of a rail yard security guard, and the guilt that haunts him sends him fleeing from the weight bearing down on him. Van Sant does a good job of constructing his film to resemble the inner workings of a distracted teenage mind. Alex decides to write down the …
Rating of
3/4
Van Sant Continues to Impress
Franz Patrick - wrote on 12/06/2008
The thing about apathy is that eventually either you wake up or you shut down. The apathetic main character (Gabe Nevins) in this picture woke up and it was an interesting journey. I found this picture, directed by Gus Van Sant, admirable in several ways. The poetic lyricism embedded in some scenes was appropriate when it comes to showing the character’s innocence; the scenes that most people will think are “pointless” are so close to real life and they made me laugh. Pretty much all the actors brought something natural to the table and made me wonder if the events in this film really happened to someone. Furthermore, I liked that the story was not told in chronological order so it forces the audience to pay attention and reward those who stuck with the characters from beginning to …
