Review of Paranoid Park (2007) by Anthony B — 10 Feb 2018

We get it, Gus, you're an artist. Paranoid Park is a would be fascinating, mainstream short film stretched to a tedious 80 minutes thanks to tired arthouse tactics. Director Gus Van Sant lazily executes his pretentious afterschool special of a screenplay with his updated signature, post Good Will Hunting, quasi cinema verite style.

I haven't seen Van Sant's 2003's Elephant because I'm not excited to, Paranoid Park on the other hand, I was genuinely intrigued by. Something about a teen murder thriller surrounding Portland's notorious Paranoid Park, an underground skate park/misfit paradise/cultural phenomenon more than deserving of its own film.

Unfortunately, that film is Paranoid Park, a movie that explores very little with a structure that is cryptic for the sake of high art and a pace so slow it will have you bored of boards long before the end credits.

Also, I know this is an indie and the budget only allows for so much, but Van Sant cheaply reuses his pal Elliot Smith (RIP)'s "Angeles" in the soundtrack when that song will always be synonymous with Good Will Hunting.

I know it seems like a relatively minor gripe in the grand scheme of things but it really isn't. As someone who appreciates the importance of sound in cinema, I thought it was a careless decision that annoyed the hell out of me.