Afterschool
Ezra Miller in the thought-provoking Afterschool
Also In The News
|
By James Christie
Roger Federer won his first tournament since becoming a father by beating Novak Djokovic 6-1, 7-5 in the final of the Cincinnati Masters. |  |
Monday, 24, Aug 2009 10:23
Directed by Antonio Campos, out August 20th in cinemas, starring Ezra Millar, Jeremy Allen White, Addison Timlin, Michael Stuhlbarg, Gary Wilmes, Emory Cohen, running time 107 mins.
In a nutshell...
Haunting, dark and challenging.
What's it all about?
Rob (Millar) is a quiet unassuming American prep school teenager, who has become so apathetic about the world, and the people that inhabit it, that the only way he can articulate his feelings is through detachedly viewing video footage of "real" emotion on the Internet, whether it's the hanging of Saddam Hussein, a baby laughing or a woman being choked and poked on his favourite porn site.
When he accidentally captures two of the school's best students OD-ing on camera while making a school video project, he seemingly remains indifferent while the school goes into meltdown around him. Their banal attempts to exorcise the tragedy only exacerbate the situation, with Rob disastrously asked to produce a video tribute to the two sisters as way of therapy. An explosion of emotion seems inevitable.
Film Trailers by Filmtrailer.com
What the others say
"This is a major debut. A dystopic vision, yes; but in comparison with the usual high-jinks from US cinema - fiercely fresh and corrosively memorable." - Nigel Andrews, Financial Times
"With a lingering and often awkward style, Afterschool is ambitious but ultimately lacklustre." - Adam Woodward, Little White Lies
So is it any good?
Kicking off with a selection of YouTube style clips that range from the funny to the banal to the infamous to the sexually deviant, it's clear that film debutant Antonio Campos has something to say about the influence that unbridled access to everything on the internet has on the impressionable, as well as a society that has not adapted enough to cope with it.
By no means an easy watch, Afterschool is an accomplished debut from Campos, taking elements from Gus Van Sant's Elephant and a visual lead from Michael Haneke, particularly Cache (Hidden), to construct a dark, challenging indictment of both the American school system and the numbing affect of the internet. Just as Rob is fascinated with the reality that the camera portrays, so too is Campos, whose camera often lingers on a solitary, static angle while the actors move in and out of shot, producing an awkward, disquieting but very realistic atmosphere. Meanwhile, a lack of music also helps create a world hauntingly empty of life and passion. Both the dyspeptic visual style and lack of auditory signals make it virtually impossible to connect with any of the characters, mirroring Rob's own repressed troubles.
Afterschool won't appeal to everyone and, in places, it's tough going, but those who do seek it out will be rewarded with the ultimate antithesis to films such as Pretty In Pink and American Pie.
7/10
Toby Weidman
This review was provided by screenjabber.com