Mean Creek (2004)

Very very predictable, including the post credit scene !!!

The film may be flawed, but its message is not.

One of the best movies of the year! Incredible from the beginning to the end.

A great movie, one of the best of this year. There was a bit of confusion at one point in the plot, but nothing serious.

Some movies remind me of the dark place that exists in us. Either that or the dangerous claws of innocence that rip our precious loves to ribbons. This one's like that.Billy Joel said a woman will "carelessly cut you and laugh while you're bleeding" but it's not just a woman, men and women alike kill, cover it up, even live with it all their lives sometimes. When we see it in film, we cringe but the prisons and homes of America are probably full of killers we never find out about. Ultimately it's the choices we make to act or react to anger in vengeance and so forth. Characters who react well, sometimes end up well. Sometimes those who don't, end up well also. It's messed up right? Well that's life and you're in it. This movie reminds you of that.A bully, his friend, a young girl, his accomplices. They all have choices to make. I like this film because it deals with perception and perspective. When seen through the bullies eyes, we see him a victim. When seen through the young girl's eyes, the victims are chosen based on convention and maybe, just plain old good raising? I can't say here and now. What do you think of this film? This is one you have to take a stand on. Bullying is exploding across our world. How you teach your kids to respond to it is crucial. This film may help open that conversation. It's an excellent film but I would have liked to have seen a little more character development of all the kids. Maybe that's just because I like to get inside characters in films with heavy concepts like bullying. I still recommend it highly as is.This is a very dark film and I think real life is dark so it's realistic. If you've seen it, what do you think of it? The questions lays before you, inescapably. If you haven't seen it, take some time and watch this small town simple film that just might blow your mind about innocence, bullying, and where the two shall meet.

I was genuinely enjoying the movie up until Millie viciously stabs a snail. This upset me so much that I spent the next fifteen minutes searching to find if it was a real snail. Well, he was real and his life was sacrificed because they were too cheap and lazy to use a prop. Once I found out the director admitted it was a real snail, I was completely taken out of the movie. I no longer cared about the kid who died in fiction... all I could think of was the poor snail who died undoubtedly felt pain before he finally died. I created this account just so I could voice how upset I was after enduring that horrific scene. Hopefully, one day, all forms of life will have to be treated humanely in the movie business. RIP snail.

Children and adolescents can sometimes be hopelessly cruel. That much we know. It seems that with the creation of the internet and social media the actions of children and adolescents seem to have gotten worse. That much we also know. But even the most devious children are not robbed of a tight, moral core which recognizes when something is wrong because of their actions. It's true, however, that some children possess nihilistic tendencies, but many children do indeed have a core that allows them to sympathize and recognize when they are in danger or at fault.Jacob Aaron Estes' Mean Creek is a beautiful little tone-poem of a film, exploring the aforementioned concept with piercing reality and humanism. Through a band of tremendous character actors, ranging from ages ten and elven to seventeen and eighteen, Estes creates an intimate portrayal of coping with a tragedy when the blame is partially on you. This would be a difficult thing for an adult to stomach. For young adolescents, it's absolutely merciful on the mind and wellbeing.The film opens with a young Sam (Rory Culkin) being beaten, harassed, and viciously assaulted by George (Josh Peck), a chubby dyslexic kid with no real friends. Despite his easy-going and often forgiving nature, Sam holds onto this beating and goes along with the plans of his older brother Rocky (Trevor Morgan) and his friends Clyde (Ryan Kelley) and Marty (Scott Mechlowicz) of getting George back by taking him out to the middle of a lake on a boat, initiating a game of truth or dare to get him to strip, and having him jump into the water and leaving him stranded.Sam takes his young girl friend Millie (Carly Schroeder) along. A cute little blonde, she immediately doesn't approve of what him and his gang of buddies are doing. Even when Sam attempts to call off the plan, as George seems like a well-meaning, if troubled and uneven soul, the plan remains on as directed by the ringleader Marty, who eggs George on to the point where he exhibits the reflexes typical of a powerless and scared individual. He resorts to obscenities and vulgarity as a means of combating the brutal words being thrown his way and, as expected, it all ends tragically.George winds up being accidentally pushed off the boat and drowning in the water. CPR and attempts to get the young kid to breath doesn't help either; George is now dead and the figurative blood is on the hands of the five kids involved. This is where Estes could've copped out and made a film that lead to basic moralizing and cheap, forgettable sentiment. Instead, Estes persist through deeply disturbing material and shows just how ugly, senseless, and troubling murder is. He shows the impact it has on these adolescents and how they try and cope with the horrific action they've just committed. It's a tough subject and Estes doesn't sugarcoat it. Just like Larry Clark did with his exceptional film Bully, Estes devotes the last half-hour or so to how the characters deal with their actions, and avoids simplistic moralizing and easy ways out. He brought this material to light and doesn't take it back at all.Moreover, the entire cast of young kids are terrific here, with specific highlights being Rory Culkin, who is given the difficult but rewarding role of playing the youngest kid. Culkin's Sam character needs to be aware of his actions but also has to have great difficulty portraying his feelings. His blank, expressionless face often penetrates the psyche of the viewer. The other particularly strong role is that of Josh Peck, who was working on Drake & Josh at this same time. Peck has another challenging role in the regard his action need to be incorrigible but his underlying personality needs to be easy to see and have the ability to second guess the decision to humiliate them. Peck's performance is surprisingly tender, especially during a vulgar key-scene on the boat.Through the lens of low-budget filmmaking, Estes makes a completely immersing and exciting picture that works because of its depiction of murder, its meditative atmosphere, its gaggle of great character actors, and its intimate focus on the adolescents involved in this issue (we pleasantly do not have to suffer through scenes with adult characters who "don't understand." Mean Creek is an often terrifying picture but it need be seen by everyone.Starring: Rory Culkin, Ryan Kelley, Scott Mechlowicz, Trevor Morgan, Josh Peck, Carly Schroeder. Directed by: Jacob Aaron Estes.

Familiar but still Engaging Story of Teen Trouble. The Acting Ensemble is Peerless and the Style of the Movie is Low-Key and Hauntingly Attractive. The Interaction among the Group is Authentic and never Strained. The Dialog is Sharp and Intelligent.But there are Two Major Flaws that keep this from being Absolutely Compelling. First the Bully Character is not Developed enough Initially to Solidify the Central Theme. Second, the Third Act Demonstrates a Weak Resolution that Raises too many Questions and that Intrudes and Separates the Audience from the Film.The Group's Behavior up to that point was Well Thought Out and Spot On. However, as Things Unfold, it seems to go Astray in an Ending that is neither Quite Believable or Satisfying. There is much to Praise in the Director's First Film, but adapting the Premise of some Very Fine Movies, that are so Similar that Comparisons are Inevitable, there must be some sort of Hook to set it apart and in that, this Film Fails to Deliver.