From the outset, the title in itself really does not signify much, especially if you have not read or heard of the 2002 eponymous novel by Nick McDonell. But the minute it starts, the narration by Sutherland just puts you into the tone of things. You can sense that this movie is not going to skirt around the issues.
Remaining true to the novel, the screenplay introduces all the characters in their right settings, and the teenagers have all been able to portray the angst in their acting. Chace as White Mike captures the aloofness amazingly well and the non – committal narration helps to place him miles away from the rest of the characters. He is the central pivot around which the rest of the movie rotates but you don't get the feeling of his involvement at all. The story does a good job of developing some very strong characters who threaten to take center stage a few times. But, the narration brings us strongly back to White Mike again and only during a few moments, do you really sense the deep emotional fractures within him.
The movie does uses a lot of clichés around drug abuse, high society spoilt kids, morality and teenage violence. You can also sense some of the characters are being put into situations where the end result is almost a foregone conclusion. But, the director has kept the story fast – paced and the theatrics to a minimum. It is a story of disjointed teenage lives getting caught up in the same predictable mess. This is a nice movie and a must watch if you like hard hitting movies.
Remaining true to the novel, the screenplay introduces all the characters in their right settings, and the teenagers have all been able to portray the angst in their acting. Chace as White Mike captures the aloofness amazingly well and the non – committal narration helps to place him miles away from the rest of the characters. He is the central pivot around which the rest of the movie rotates but you don't get the feeling of his involvement at all. The story does a good job of developing some very strong characters who threaten to take center stage a few times. But, the narration brings us strongly back to White Mike again and only during a few moments, do you really sense the deep emotional fractures within him.
The movie does uses a lot of clichés around drug abuse, high society spoilt kids, morality and teenage violence. You can also sense some of the characters are being put into situations where the end result is almost a foregone conclusion. But, the director has kept the story fast – paced and the theatrics to a minimum. It is a story of disjointed teenage lives getting caught up in the same predictable mess. This is a nice movie and a must watch if you like hard hitting movies.