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Mean Creek
Paramount // R // January 25, 2005
List Price: $29.99 [Buy now and save at Amazon]
The Movie:
What would you do if a simple plan you had went terrible wrong, how would you react, and how could you cope with what had happened? Mean Creek, from director Jacob Estes, starts as a what could end up being another simple teen revenge movie but ends up being one of the better independent movies I've seen in recent times.
Rory Culkin effectively plays Sam, a small guy who is picked on at school by the school bully George(Josh Peck) who then enlists the help of his older brother and a pair of his friends to help deliver some embarrassing revenge on George. The plan was to invite George on a boat trip down the river then torment him, but as the group of teens start to realize that George is actually trying to fit in, and may not be fully understood as a real person, most want to call the plan off. Things change while on the river however, and then the plan takes a wrong turn and the entire tone of the movie shifts to bring the viewer into the world gone wrong.
Each of the main characters has a background into who they are; Sam is the runt of the litter, his brother Rocky (Trevor Morgan) is the tough guy who loves and watches over his friends and family, Millie (Carly Schroeder) is Sam's girlfriend whose vulnerability is shown in a scene where she plans out what she might say on their first date, Clyde (Ryan Kelley) the outcast of the group because of his living situation in their small town, Marty (Scott Mechlowicz) the guy who acts tougher than he is because of hiding some pain deep inside, and of course George the bully.
George is an interesting character who at points in the movie shows how vulnerable he is as a human. He at one point questions Clyde on why he may have hit him with a baseball bat when they were younger, stating "...people don't just hit people for no reason.", then when confronted with the truth his mood and demeanor change so dramatically showing the rage and fury inside.
As mentioned, what could have been a very basic to the numbers revenge flick, turns into a great drama about some choices gone wrong, and the inner turmoil that a person goes through in dealing with the choice. The movie took great pains in slowing the pace when necessary and letting the actors act through the scene to convey their feelings and emotions. The entire cast, whose average age is just over eighteen each play such a huge roll in making the movie believable and tragic.
The DVD:
How's it Look?
Mean Creek is an animorphically enhanced widescreen presentation, that was predominantly shot on Super 16 (according to the commentary) with some shots from a video camera that George uses throughout the movie to "make a documentary".
The first two thirds of the move are shot in the bright sun and foliage of northern Oregon. It seems that the director used a lot of natural light throughout the movie as a lot of nice color reflections off the water and trees is noticeable. The only defects in the print are very slight specks in a couple scenes, and the only pixelation noticed was intentional. Later in the movie, the color scheme shifts to a darker tone, and even then the colors come through quite cleanly. Overall, the video quality was very good, especially considering the movie was shot on an estimated budget of $500,000.
How's the Sound?
Two audio options are here, a DD 5.1 and a two channel Dolby track are here, both in English. This is obviously not an action movie, so the sound is generally limited to the center speaker with some additional ambience added to the surrounds when on the boat, and in other scenes. The mix overall quite even, although in some scenes the audio seems to drown out the dialog, but it seems like in those cases where it happened, it may have been intentional.
I should point out that the soundtrack to Mean Creek is a very well put together and excellent piece of work by tomandandy. All the musical choices as well as the score fit very well with the movie, adding a layer of depth that most lower budget movies cannot obtain.
Extras:
The only extra on Mean Creek is a commentary by the cast and crew, featuring writer/director Jacob Estes, cinematographer Sharone Meir, editor Madeleine Gavin, Josh Peck, Trevor Morgan, Ryan Kelley, and Carly Schroeder. It sounds as if the entire group was together when this was recorded, as they would address each other on occasion. The group shares a lot of insight into the making of the movie, ranging from how scenes that are either missing or altered significantly, to how the editing of the movie can alter the flow of any scene just by inserting or removing a small shot, or by skipping a transition to a different scene.
Even though this is the only true extra feature on the DVD (aside from twelve minutes of previews from Paramount), the commentary is worth listening too, as Jacob and his crew share some nice snippets about the movie.
Closing Thoughts:
Mean Creek was an official selection at both Sundance and at Cannes, and for good reasons. This movie blew through all of my expectations and has made it onto the list of movies that I highly recommend to people. The transformation of the teens from the light hearted, jovial group they are initially to the broken, terrified bunch they become is so well shown in the movie, that you genuinely feel something for each character, especially George who is trying his hardest to fit in but just can't get things right.
As a DVD, it is a little light on the features but the commentary is well worth listening too. Thankfully the movie stands on it's own without the need for fluff to try and fill the space on the DVD. Highly Recommended.
What would you do if a simple plan you had went terrible wrong, how would you react, and how could you cope with what had happened? Mean Creek, from director Jacob Estes, starts as a what could end up being another simple teen revenge movie but ends up being one of the better independent movies I've seen in recent times.
Rory Culkin effectively plays Sam, a small guy who is picked on at school by the school bully George(Josh Peck) who then enlists the help of his older brother and a pair of his friends to help deliver some embarrassing revenge on George. The plan was to invite George on a boat trip down the river then torment him, but as the group of teens start to realize that George is actually trying to fit in, and may not be fully understood as a real person, most want to call the plan off. Things change while on the river however, and then the plan takes a wrong turn and the entire tone of the movie shifts to bring the viewer into the world gone wrong.
Each of the main characters has a background into who they are; Sam is the runt of the litter, his brother Rocky (Trevor Morgan) is the tough guy who loves and watches over his friends and family, Millie (Carly Schroeder) is Sam's girlfriend whose vulnerability is shown in a scene where she plans out what she might say on their first date, Clyde (Ryan Kelley) the outcast of the group because of his living situation in their small town, Marty (Scott Mechlowicz) the guy who acts tougher than he is because of hiding some pain deep inside, and of course George the bully.
George is an interesting character who at points in the movie shows how vulnerable he is as a human. He at one point questions Clyde on why he may have hit him with a baseball bat when they were younger, stating "...people don't just hit people for no reason.", then when confronted with the truth his mood and demeanor change so dramatically showing the rage and fury inside.
As mentioned, what could have been a very basic to the numbers revenge flick, turns into a great drama about some choices gone wrong, and the inner turmoil that a person goes through in dealing with the choice. The movie took great pains in slowing the pace when necessary and letting the actors act through the scene to convey their feelings and emotions. The entire cast, whose average age is just over eighteen each play such a huge roll in making the movie believable and tragic.
The DVD:
How's it Look?
Mean Creek is an animorphically enhanced widescreen presentation, that was predominantly shot on Super 16 (according to the commentary) with some shots from a video camera that George uses throughout the movie to "make a documentary".
The first two thirds of the move are shot in the bright sun and foliage of northern Oregon. It seems that the director used a lot of natural light throughout the movie as a lot of nice color reflections off the water and trees is noticeable. The only defects in the print are very slight specks in a couple scenes, and the only pixelation noticed was intentional. Later in the movie, the color scheme shifts to a darker tone, and even then the colors come through quite cleanly. Overall, the video quality was very good, especially considering the movie was shot on an estimated budget of $500,000.
How's the Sound?
Two audio options are here, a DD 5.1 and a two channel Dolby track are here, both in English. This is obviously not an action movie, so the sound is generally limited to the center speaker with some additional ambience added to the surrounds when on the boat, and in other scenes. The mix overall quite even, although in some scenes the audio seems to drown out the dialog, but it seems like in those cases where it happened, it may have been intentional.
I should point out that the soundtrack to Mean Creek is a very well put together and excellent piece of work by tomandandy. All the musical choices as well as the score fit very well with the movie, adding a layer of depth that most lower budget movies cannot obtain.
Extras:
The only extra on Mean Creek is a commentary by the cast and crew, featuring writer/director Jacob Estes, cinematographer Sharone Meir, editor Madeleine Gavin, Josh Peck, Trevor Morgan, Ryan Kelley, and Carly Schroeder. It sounds as if the entire group was together when this was recorded, as they would address each other on occasion. The group shares a lot of insight into the making of the movie, ranging from how scenes that are either missing or altered significantly, to how the editing of the movie can alter the flow of any scene just by inserting or removing a small shot, or by skipping a transition to a different scene.
Even though this is the only true extra feature on the DVD (aside from twelve minutes of previews from Paramount), the commentary is worth listening too, as Jacob and his crew share some nice snippets about the movie.
Closing Thoughts:
Mean Creek was an official selection at both Sundance and at Cannes, and for good reasons. This movie blew through all of my expectations and has made it onto the list of movies that I highly recommend to people. The transformation of the teens from the light hearted, jovial group they are initially to the broken, terrified bunch they become is so well shown in the movie, that you genuinely feel something for each character, especially George who is trying his hardest to fit in but just can't get things right.
As a DVD, it is a little light on the features but the commentary is well worth listening too. Thankfully the movie stands on it's own without the need for fluff to try and fill the space on the DVD. Highly Recommended.
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