A story of juvenile payback gone wrong, Jacob Aaron Estes' debut feature is a combination of River's Edge and Bully that's ultimately more compelling than either. When a bright but scrawny middle school student (Rory Culkin) is beaten up by a bigger classmate (Josh Peck), his older brother (Trevor Morgan) designs a plan for revenge: invite the bully on a canoe trip--along with a girl Culkin has a crush on and two of Morgan's buddies--and, after awhile, force the victim to strip naked and walk back to town. But the kids are confronted with hard choices when the scheme ends in a tragic accident. What makes Mean Creek so gripping is Estes' ability to elevate what could have been a crudely simplistic narrative into a tale full of dramatic and moral complexity, while at the same time creating a thoroughly convincing lower middle-class environment (with very few lapses, the dialogue rings remarkably true, and the director draws wonderfully natural and touching performances from his young cast). Mean Creek possesses a gritty eloquence that sets it apart from similar movies about youthful misconduct--which are usually either slick cautionary tales or splashy exercises in sensationalism. A simple but powerful story told with uncommon honesty and sensitivity, this is highly recommended. [Note: DVD extras include audio commentary by director Jacob Aaron Estes, cinematographer Sharon Meir, editor Madeleine Gavin, and costars Josh Peck, Trevor Morgan, Ryan Kelley, and Carly Schroeder; a storyboard gallery, and trailers. Bottom line: a small but solid extras package for a small but powerful film.] (F. Swietek)
Mean Creek
Paramount, 87 min., R, VHS or DVD: $29.99, Jan. 25 Volume 20, Issue 1
Mean Creek
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