Review of Mean Creek (2004) by James S — 07 Jan 2008

Thoughtful and at times uncomfortable teen movie thats more Heathers than Breakfast Club. The film is near flawless in it's first two acts building up to deliverance of a plan to teach a school bully a lesson that he may or may not deserve. Depending on what scene is playing out at the time, the watchers view point is twisted and turned like a corkscrew. It's all very well done, making this one of most truthful teen movies in recent years.

Sadly the final act is a let down and the truthful tone is replaced by a do-gooder type denoument which leaves the film feeling like it's been a bit of a cheat.

For the first hour it's a 4 star tension burner but it ends as a two star style TV movie....so it gets 3.