Forgotten Films: Mean Creek (2004)
Posted by Tony Farinella on 12.16.2006
One of the most disturbing films of 2004 in my new Forgotten Films column.
I have said countless times that movies can be used to educate, inform, and cause passionate discussion with its subject matter. Nothing beats walking out of the theater and having dinner with a friend and discussing a movie for hours upon end. You debate what you thought it meant, what the director was trying to accomplish, and what you took away from the film. You also stay up late with the movie fresh on your mind. You can't sleep because the movie has completely taken over your brain. I have also said that 2004 was the year for the most thoughtful films in a while. We had The Assassination of Richard Nixon, Vera Drake, and now Mean Creek. Mean Creek was perhaps the most surprising film to be released in 2004.
Truth be told, I'm a very observant and sensitive person. I take notice of human suffering, pain, and people going through hard times. I can sense it from a mile away. I'm the kind of person who sees a homeless person on the street and it just breaks my heart. I can't even look at it without tears or feelings of extreme sadness. I'm the person in my group who can easily sense when a friend is down, depressed, or not happy. They can't hide it from me. No other film from 2004 made me more upset or observant than Mean Creek. Probably because the film had so much human suffering and pain in every single character. Not a person in the film was happy or completely normal. Everyone in the film had a lot going on with themselves internally and externally. I sensed it right away and it hurt to watch it unfold on screen.
I have recently been discussing a lot of teen related films and shows on my reviews here at 411mania.com. Most are fairly lighthearted, simple, and easy going. The biggest problem they have to worry about is prom. They really don't deal with feelings of isolation, depression, and regret. I always thought there was a market for films about young teens that don't have your normal everyday high school problems. They have problems that are dark and really messed up. Not everyone under the age of 23 has problems relating to girls, prom, or high school. They have issues at home, in their family, and with themselves. It might not be pretty, but it still exists. You can't only show one side of the coin, you have to show the underbelly of the teen world. It has been show in films here and there such as At Close Range, River's Edge, and Stand By Me. That genre returned in 2004 with Mean Creek.
It was interesting and fascinating to see such young actors taking on such different roles. It was mostly young teens under the age of 18 taking on complex and layered characters. A lot of the actors involved in this movie were previously involved in Disney shows or on Nickelodeon. They had never even attempted to take on movie roles like this. What does that mean? It means if you give the right actors the right parts, they will hit it out of the park. There is an old expression that you are only as good as the material in front of you. If you only see certain actors in certain roles, you don't get to fully grasp what they are capable of. In a movie like Mean Creek, you get to see what they are capable of when they are fully challenged. Nothing is better than going into a movie and being fully surprised. It is truly something to behold.
We open up our story following young Sam (Rory Culkin), who is constantly getting picked on by George (Josh Peck) at school. George takes it way too far one day and puts quite a beating on Sam. Sam's brother Rocky (Trevor Morgan) decides it is time to do something about his younger brother getting beat up daily. He forges up a plan with the help of his friends Marty (Scott Mechlowicz) and Clyde (Ryan Kelley) to extract some revenge on the unlikable George. Their plan is to make up a fictitious birthday party and invite George with them to hang out on a boat trip. They then plan to strip him naked, throw him in the water, and make him run home naked. They think this humiliation plan will finally get George to stop picking on Sam. Also along for this little prank is Sam's pseudo girlfriend played by Carly Schroeder.
Before I go further with their plans and how it unfolds, I should probably give a little background on each character in the film. Clyde is a shy and polite kid who has two homosexuals fathers at home. Because of this, he is often picked on and made fun of by the group. I'm not quite sure why he hangs out with this group, as he seems to be the only decent one out of the group. My only assumption is that he has no friends and hangs out with them because he has no other choice. Marty is an angry teen with a dead father and a slow mother. He is often humiliated publicly by his rude and abrasive brother. Rocky seems to be trying to be a good brother to Sam, but he follows Marty and his bad habits way too much. Sam and his girlfriend are your typical 13 to 14-year-old kids just finally getting over cooties enough to start talking to each other. Lastly, the most complex character of the film is definitely George.
George is a kid with a lot of issues and deep down is very lonely. Early in the film, we get a glimpse into his room and see mountains and mountains of toys. He simply uses toys, gadgets, and gimmicks to make up for the lack of real friends in his life. He records everything through a video camera that goes on in his life. We discover that his mother is in her own world. She spends hours upon hours working out while George is often left alone in his room. You discover that he is not really a bad kid, just a kid with issues that have gone ignored for far too long. Josh Peck does a skillful job with this character as he really turns him into a tragic and pathetic figure. He also makes him pretty out of control later on in the film when he discovers what their true intentions are. He unleashes a verbal backlash on the group that is off the charts.
Let's go back to the boat trip and what goes down there. Sam's girlfriend is fairly upset when she finds out she had no clue what they were planning to do to George. She wants nothing to do with this. She makes Sam promise to call it off, or she'll demand to be taken home. Sam tells Rocky to call it off and Clyde agrees. They see that maybe George is not all that bad. He got Sam a gift, he is trying to have fun, and he mostly means well. He is mostly socially awkward and has a habit of not knowing how to act in a big group. He usually says something at the wrong time or something completely unfunny. Take for example when he decides to start rapping in front of everyone. At first, it's rather comical, but after a while, it becomes tedious and annoys everyone. He doesn't know when enough is enough and when to pull the plug. He is almost like an untrained dog let out in the world without a clue on how to react to any situation.
This proves to be a very bad idea when a profanity-laced rant by George leads to an event that will change the lives of everyone involved in this little prank. What occurs afterwards might be the most fascinating part of the film. The kids all sit down and try to come up with a solution for what just happened. This touches on a lot of key issues as we see every kid has a different idea or plan. They are dealing with not only peer pressure from the group, but their own piece of mind. They want to do the right thing and be able to sleep at night with the choice they made. The characters have a huge moral dilemma to deal with at the end of this film. You really learn a lot about each individual character as they huddle around and make their decision. You get to see them react to a very dreadful situation in a surprising way.
Ebert mentioned in his print review, that this is a film that should be played in schools for young kids to learn from. I couldn't agree with him more. He does mention how the film has an "R" rating, which might turn off a lot of schools from playing the film. Truthfully, most teens by the age of 13 have already seen Kill Bill, Pulp Fiction, and Goodfellas, which are all rated R. I think they can handle Mean Creek and truly learn from it as Ebert suggests. I know I would have loved to see a film like this when I was in high school and have a passionate discussion about it. Sadly, it seems like most schools today are hiding the important subject matters and simply throwing them under the rug for no one to see. Why hide it? That is not going to make it go away, it will only make it worse. I only hope parents are smart enough to show this film to their children on their own. It will show what bullying can do and what it can lead to. This is a film I won't soon forget.
Why was it forgotten?
This is yet another case of a great film getting lost in the shuffle of amazing films that were released in 2004. If this film came out now, I think it would be a sleeper hit. Sadly, timing can kill a movie.
How can you see it?
The DVD is out and you might have to search for it, but it's worth it. You get a good commentary track with the cast on the DVD. It's extremely informative.
Why should you see it?
It's a powerful piece of film-making that will haunt you for hours after it's over.
