Review of The Outsiders (1983) by Jordan K — 18 Aug 2012

I've read the book and now I've seen the movie and it's official: both are great and a masterpiece. Man, there is so much drama and suspense in both the movie and the book.

*SPOILERS START HERE*.

Ponyboy Curtis is known a greaser in town, along with his friends, the nervous wreck, Johnny, and the troublemaking Dally. They constantly are picked on by the Socs (pronounced soshes, yeah it's kinda weird), the rich kids in town who always hurt the "white trash" greasers. Ponyby feels even worse at home, feeling like his older brother Darrel hates him while his other brother Sodapop always defends him. One night, Ponyboy is drowned by a Soc and Johnny has no choice but to kill him with a switchblade. This leads to Johnny and Ponyboy hiding out in a church in a nearby town, learning how to survive using food and a copy of Gone with the Wind. Soon, Dally comes to find them and they all go to help kids to get out of a burning church. While there, everybody gets hurt, especially Johnny who is in critical condition. Ponyboy gets better remarkably quick and goes home to beat the Socs in a big rumble, along with Darrel and Sodapop. They beat them, but still Ponyboy and Dally witness the death of Johnny, who tells them to quit fighting the Socs. Dally soon is incredibly angry and robs a convienience store, leading to police shooting him and also killing him. Ponyboy is left reading a letter that Johnny wrote before he died and then the movie ends.

*SPOILERS END HERE*.

I think the characters are great (with a ridiculous amount of 1980s celebs), the story is great, and the acting is great- but I gave it 4 stars for a few reasons. For one, the awkwardly out-of-touch camerawork. I remember one of the scenes was shot upside down and another in an uncomfortable moving close-up. Another kinda irritating thing in the movie is the background music at points. Some of the music doesn't really go well with some scenes. Otherwise, it's an excellent film that tells a remarkable story. If you liked the book, see the movie. If you liked the movie, read the book. It's that simple.