Review of Diner (1982) by Zachary G — 14 Apr 2012

Directed by Barry Levinson, âDinerâ? is a film about coming of age into adulthood and the story of 5 late teenage boys learning how to live in an adult society and the difficulties it can bring.

This film appeared to have absolutely no storyline, it followed 5 boys who werenâ(TM)t interesting in the least and had no outstanding qualities. They were just very self-centred and it was hard to be able to relate to them let alone like any of the characters at all. The storyline didnâ(TM)t have any direction and lacked anything anyone could find remotely interesting about it. The writing was extremely flat and had no motive to capture ones attention or make one feel any emotion except for an extreme longing for this torturous film to end.

Levinson and cinematographer Peter Sova did an abysmal job at what a film is suppose to accomplish. The shots were way too long that it added to the boring story line and had the viewers putting far too much effort into trying to concentrate on the film. The camera moved very little making it monotonous and everlasting (all shots would pan to other person slowly and there were very few cuts which made it seem longer and slower). The different types of shots were repeated over and over to the point where one who was paying attention could predict what shot was going to happen next, which made it far too repetitive and sluggish. The shots also seemed as if Sova had put no effort into it whatsoever, they were all very simplistic shots that appeared to be done by an amateur (still camera while people walk towards it, car drives towards it). There were also weird, awkward shots, like a really intense close up on a part of a face for too long when someoneâ(TM)s talking, that didnâ(TM)t go with the film at all and seemed awkward and unfitting.

There were only two refreshing things about this film; the acting and the sets.

The sets in this film were boring at first glance but after observing them for a while it is noticeable that there had been a lot of meticulous work into making them and it was then easy to see that they did create a good atmosphere and a full, well-rounded sense of location and surrounding.

The characters were also really strong in this film, especially Mickey Rourkeâ(TM)s character âBillyâ?. But all the characters were really well developed and, although they were boring, and not relatable or likable they were strong and realistic.

And although I didnâ(TM)t find the writing to be good whatsoever, it did have some good quotes in it like âif you donâ(TM)t have good dreams you have nightmaresâ? and the writing was critically acclaimed, I just didnâ(TM)t find it to be very good.

However, overall this film failed in the category of good films, I would never watch it again and would never recommend it to anyone.