Review of Rebel Without a Cause (1955) by Thomas W — 18 Jun 2010

"Rebel Without a Cause" is right up there with "The Breakfast Club" as one of the most insightful portals into the troubled and mysterious mind of the American teenager. The film opens up by introducing us to three such "rebels" at the police station; Jim (James Dean), Judy (Natalie Wood), and John (Sal Mineo), each of them having committed some infraction without any apparent reason.

Though scrutinized and judged by the cops â?? representative of adult society as a whole â?? to be senseless troublemaking kids, the truth is that these misunderstood youths do indeed have cause for rebelling.

They all come from volatile home environments where they're either suppressed or neglected. Specifically, all three lack for a strong male figure in their lives; Jim's father is a pushover, Judy's is overprotective, and John's is no-show, instilling him with a self-destructive fear of abandonment.

Together, these three recognize the common holes in each others' hearts, and form a make-believe pseudo-family that's more complete than either of them has individually, poignantly evoked in a scene where they play house in an old deserted mansion.

All the performances are superb, but the dominant presence is definitely Dean's. He bares Jim's soul on the screen in an aching display of method acting that can only be described as brilliant.

He died tragically a month before the film's release. Perhaps the most enigmatic and telling description of youthful rebellion that the movie gives comes in a scene where Jim and local tough guy Buzz prepare to do battle in the form of a deadly game of chicken.

Both characters share a mutual understanding of each other, so Jim questions why they must go through with the dangerous challenge. Buzz replies, "You gotta do something.".