Very depressing and tragic movie. But is definitely a modernized version of Rebel Without A Cause - in the darkest way possible. Dennis Hopper plays the alcoholic so well, it's hard to tell if he's acting or really drunk (or both?) But Linda Manz as CeBe steals the show, in hopes to regain the youthful fun she had with her father before he went to prison 5 years prior. But in her maturity, she realizes how dysfunctional and depraved her surroundings have become. Siding with 'punk rock and Elvis' as a way to rebel and have someone to look up to during her fathers absence. But on his release, he immediately goes back to his drunken ways and making empty promises to Cebe that things will get better. And it's her painful realization that things never will. A fairly good depiction of the Vancouver area and era of the late 70's. Yet the movie has some drawn out scenes which run a bit too long. Soundtrack wise is fitting and not. Neil Young's anthem tune fits it like a loose glove. Disembodied snippets and recitations of Elvis songs seems to throw it off course. And brief exposures of true punk bands like The Pointed Sticks juxtaposed with C&W acts in local bars can almost cause whiplash. Yet, that was the realism back in the day. So possible a more focused and/or coordinated soundtrack may have made the movie more dramatic - but lose the realism...? All in all, it's not an easy watch. But is honest and realistic well before Gasper Noe or Bong Joon Ho. Should something as depressing and depraved as Out Of The Blue exist? I think so, as it's an experience that no doubt exists somewhere to this day for someone - and it's NOT pretty!
Review of Out of the Blue
