Director Jacob Estes's feature film debut is a remarkably accomplished coming of age drama about death and consequences. When overweight, emotionally troubled George (Josh Peck) beats up a smaller kid named Sam (Rory Culkin) one time too many, his older brother Rocky (Trevor Morgan) and Rocky's wrong-side-of-the-tracks pal (Scott Mechlowicz) decide to teach George a lesson. Along with their friend Clyde (Ryan Kelley)--who was once the brunt of George's violence himself--they bring George on a boat trip with a cruel prank in mind. Sam brings his love interest, Milly (Carly Schroeder), who tries to stop the plan when she decides George is a nice guy after all. Tragic things happen nonetheless with the slow, languid rhythm of life in a small Oregon town. Along the way, Estes manages to capture many fine moments of poetic realism like the stillness of the forest around the river, the swirling eddies along the shore, a snail crawling along a leaf, and a drowning video camera. Cinematographer Sharone Meir uses color filters and washed-out film stock to make everything glow with faded colors like old family photographs. The dialogue feels natural and the acting is precise; Estes obviously loves his cast and allows plenty of time and space for their characters to breathe, think, and be the confused kids they're meant to be.
(28 votes)
2.
Deliverance goes to high school in this grim, stripped-down fable of a prank gone bad. Friends decide to teach a lesson to a teenage bully by inviting him on a canoeing trip where they will humiliate him once and for all. The prank turns seriously sour, and the kids must deal with the consequences. Writer-director Jacob Aaron Estes takes a somber look at these lives, although his low-key approach makes the central tragedy seem melodramatic when it happens. The film isn't quite new enough to be truly revelatory, but Estes neatly avoids a River's Edge rehash by allowing his characters more than dead-eyed anomie. The actors hit their notes with precision, especially Rory Culkin (another of the Culkin family, with Macaulay and Kieran), Ryan Kelley, and Scott Mechlowicz. This is the kind of movie that may be slightly familiar to older audiences, but could easily be a home-video cult item with younger viewers. --Robert Horton
(22 votes)
3.
Beneath The Surface Everyone Has A Secret.
When a group of teens decide to teach the local bully a lesson by taking him on a boat trip for a little harmless revenge, things turn suddenly tragic.
(23 votes)
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