Review of Mean Creek (2004) by William D — 18 Dec 2009

"Mean Creek," the debut film from writer/director Jacob Aaron Estes, is so-so. It's an intriguing idea, but Estes cannot quite pull it off. He particularly shows himself weak with actors. The cast of unknown, inexperienced teenagers seemed lost in most scenes, as if they had no feel for their characters. Especially disastrous is Scott Mechlowicz's crushingly fake depiction of a dangerous bad boy.

Rory Culkin, the only well-known actor in the cast, gives by far the best performance, but he does not have much dialogue. (If you want to see a masterful performance from a child actor, see Culkin's work in 2000's "You Can Count on Me," filmed when he was just 10.).

The story is set in a small town in Oregon, where a troubled boy takes out his anxiety and frustration on his peers, walloping them and berating them with almost no provocation. Several kids, with aid from their bored older brothers, scheme to give this boy his comeuppance. But surprises come when the group starts to see that this bully is really disabled. Gradually it also becomes clear that the supposed good kids humiliate each other verbally in as sadistic a way as the bully does. Estes appears to be making a point about the ubiquitous sadism that plagues youth culture.

The film gets quite dramatic when the bullying teen goes out of control and tragedy strikes. But I found the increase in drama rather predictable. Yet it was interesting to ponder how rivalries between children often get right up to the threshold of violence. Why do so many of our children become bloodthirsty vis-a-vis their peers? Estes has thoughtful questions but hasn't yet mastered the cinematic medium through which he can explore them. But he is a filmmaker to watch. His next film, "The Details," is due in 2010 and stars Tobey Maguire.