Review of Rocket Science (2007) by Krishna S — 24 Oct 2008

"Rocket Science" is an absolutely delightful and quirky indie film. The coming-of-age story has been done to death at the movies. However, it has rarely received such an unorthodox treatment which is at the same time charming.

The film starts with a bang. The opening debating sequence is simply superb. It's the kind of experience nearly every person can relate to in his/her life. But thereafter, there is a lull. The film builds up slowly and gradually till it reaches its zenith in the final sequences. Just when you think you have things figured out, a new element is introduced and everything changes. In doing so, the writer-director gives us characters that are very real. After a while, I found myself looking over the awkwardness and actually relating to the experiences of the characters. In this process, I truly fell in love with them.

The story is that of a bumbling stuttering high school boy, Hal Hefner (Reece Thompson). He comes from a broken home and a dominating brother and suffers inidignities on a daily basis. On encouragement from the reigning debating queen, Ginny (Anna Kendrick), he gets drawn into the world of high competitive inter-school debating. However, soon he realises that the world of debating has its own politics, its own rules and the remainder of the film is about him finding his own voice.

The experiences of Hal, Ginny and Ben (Nicholas D'Agosto) are the kind that almost any and every person goes through in their teenage years. We all struggle to find our own voices. In case of Hal, the problem is literal and not figurative. The film's takes on matters such as love, competition, relationships etc. seem straight out of life. The writer-director Jeffrey Blitz has taken great care in developing the characters and ensuring a third dimension to each one of them including supporting characters like Hal's brother (Vincent Piazza) and the Korean guy his mother is dating. The script is well written and there are a number of sequences that stand out. For example, the outburst of Kendrick in the end is well penned and takes the viewer by surprise. Blitz never pretends to simplify things nor does he stick to cliches. He uses quirk and comedy merely as tools to tell a poignant tale and not for once gets carried away by the tools he employs. This is one of the greatest strengths of the film.

The other great strength of the film lies in the performance of its two lead actors: Reece Thompson and Anna Kendrick both deliver knockout performances. Both have possibly great careers ahead. They take to their characters so naturally that it is hard to imagine anyone else playing the characters. In fact, it is their performances that elevates the impact of several sequences. The one outstanding example is that when Hal gets drunk and wreaks havoc. Reece Thompson nails the sequence leaving the viewer with goosebumps. These are actors to watch out for! Nicholas D'Agosto and Vincent Piazza also deliver very good performances in supporting roles.

Overall, Rocket Science is one of the best coming-of-age films in recent times. The only other one I can think of is Juno. Super Solid Recommendation!