Saw this one night on Cinemax. Watched it about 20 minutes, turned the channel, then switched back because I was going nuts to see where this was going to end up. It's very captivating.
The acting was really good, by the teen actors anyway. Don Cheadle's performance was so/ so. The kids really stole the show.
The herky-jerky camera movements were very annoying, especially the basketball scenes. You want to see more of the surroundings and detail, but are always denied that by the camera. Which is probably the intent of the director.
The movie is mainly about Lyle, from actor Joseph Gordon-Levitt, who I knew I had seen before, but just could not place in anything I had seen. Lyle, comes from a single parent home, and has violent tendencies toward others who he disagrees with. Actually, he is just very self-righteous and you almost want to agree how he sticks up for himself. You almost want to see him beat the crap out of the resident bigot resident, who is Caucasian, but sees himself as a African-American gangsta type.
Joseph hit this character right on the mark as far as I am concerned, and it was just great to see him pull off a role like this. A truly talented young actor. Who would have thought this from the kid on Third Rock From The Sun?
So, great movie, if you are in the mood for something indie-spirited, raw, and truly depressing in a lot of respects, go ahead and watch. It left me hoping you can see some of these kids fix their problems, and get out of the institution.
The acting was really good, by the teen actors anyway. Don Cheadle's performance was so/ so. The kids really stole the show.
The herky-jerky camera movements were very annoying, especially the basketball scenes. You want to see more of the surroundings and detail, but are always denied that by the camera. Which is probably the intent of the director.
The movie is mainly about Lyle, from actor Joseph Gordon-Levitt, who I knew I had seen before, but just could not place in anything I had seen. Lyle, comes from a single parent home, and has violent tendencies toward others who he disagrees with. Actually, he is just very self-righteous and you almost want to agree how he sticks up for himself. You almost want to see him beat the crap out of the resident bigot resident, who is Caucasian, but sees himself as a African-American gangsta type.
Joseph hit this character right on the mark as far as I am concerned, and it was just great to see him pull off a role like this. A truly talented young actor. Who would have thought this from the kid on Third Rock From The Sun?
So, great movie, if you are in the mood for something indie-spirited, raw, and truly depressing in a lot of respects, go ahead and watch. It left me hoping you can see some of these kids fix their problems, and get out of the institution.