Mean Creek (2004)

Mean Creek (2004)

*** This review may contain spoilers ***

5 word summary

Boys try retaliating against bully

When a boy, Sam, is bullied at school his brother, Rocky, and his brothers friend, Marty, decide that the bully needs to pay for what he has done. They plan on taking a canoe trip with Sam, Rocky, Marty, Sam's friends Clyde and Millie, and the bully, George. While on the trip they were gonna start a game of truth or dare and when its George's turn, have him strip naked and jump in the river and then make him walk home naked and humiliated.

When the trip begins everyone starts to enjoy George's company. Everyone starts to think he's just a nice kid who tries to get attention and friends. When Millie finds out about the plans she tells Sam shes not continuing unless the plans are called off. The word is past around and they decide to not start the game of truth or dare, except Marty. Marty feels George is trying to get stuff from everyone to use it against them later and he wants to go through with the plans. As the day goes on George slowly pisses everyone off, and when Marty tries to start the game everyone backs off until George calls them all pussies. Game on.

************SPOILERS*****************

Now after the spoiler alert I'll assume anyone else reading has seen the film and I'll stop explaining.

After Georges death they all go they're separate ways and try to forget but its nothing they can forget. For me it seemed that the aftershock of George's death wasn't long enough. It's almost as if they built up a lot for the death and then rushed to the end. Not for the whole after death I guess, the scene on the beach with them all sitting around was excellent. No ones talking, no ones moving. They are all shocked and don't know what to do. Even though really they didn't do anything very wrong, it was an accident ,but none of them are thinking right, so they decide, or Marty decides, to bury the body.

As a viewer i was still caught up in the whole death and burial scene by the time the film was over. I kind of wish they would have shown a little more of them when they get home. But then again no one besides Marty thought it was a good idea to start with. So when they decide to tell George's parents it probably would have been a pretty quick. So what happens to Marty? Well we know he robs a store, but not much else. We know he was very scared and worried from the way he acted during the robbery. Was he getting money to run away? Thinking he was going to jail? Or was he just confused and scared and didn't know what to do?

The directing and acting was all really well done. It is truly a wonderful and moving film especially for such a low budget, traditionally speaking. And really I think everyone saw the death coming from the beginning but the fact that the director was still able to shock us with the scene is truly an achievement.