Review of Spring Breakers (2013) by Delwyn J — 04 Apr 2014

Audiences expecting another 'Project X' or '21 and Over' should not watch this film, as this is not your typical party movie and has been rather miss marketed. Spring breakers is incredibly unique in its style and its artistic beauty is admirable. Kronie uses his movie as a tool, helping his audience to understand how an MTV influenced generation has drastically diminished and mutilated the search for contentment; with nihilistic extremity. All of the characters live in a world drenched with pop-culture so unreal that its presiding deity is Britney Spears. The director's exploration is satirical, a concept the mainstream audiences are failing to understand.

Performance wise, the girls all do an adequate job but produce nothing noteworthy. In contrast, James Franco arguably gives the best performance of his career, it is clear how much he has invested into his character. The acting here is wonderful, successfully portraying an insane, narcissistic drug and arms dealer but still making you like him. Franco is able to create moments of darkness and make the audience feel uncomfortable, but also produce moments of sweetness and hilarity.

On an Aesthetic level, the film is spectacular. The lighting is gorgeous, adding to an already established feeling of darkness. The bright neon lights provide beautiful contrasts. The sound design and music from Clint Martinez (Drive) also compliments the brilliant cinematography. Each scene loops and overlaps in an exclusive style the director calls a "liquid narrative". Combinations of whispery voiceovers and vivid imagery is very Terrence Malick like. The repetition on motifs convey darker undertones as the movie continues: hands first convey tenderness, then bloodied threat; the mantra "Spring... breeeeak... foreeeva" sounds hypnotic, then horrible as the end approaches.

This movie has a consistent theme throughout, one that many people will overlook and therefore not enjoy the movie. It's supposed to be boring, the social commentary here is worth acknowledging. Even while our main characters are having a great time at a party, the film still feels dull. This is the point, it's not meant to enlist excitement. Feelings of uncomfortableness, disgust and sadness are welcomed.

My biggest criticisms of the movie find it 'stupidly entertaining but, somewhat knowingly, too crackers for catharsis, too troubling to titillate and too open-ended for closure' however, Spring breakers features depth and style making for a very particular , thought provoking experience.