MEAN CREEK
(2004, Jacob Aaron Estes, USA) [62 out of 100]
Attempting, somewhat successfully (although never quite reaching the pinnacles of), to play somewhere between The River's Edge and Deliverence (along with some socialized hints of Gummo), Mean Creek is a mean movie that never once wants to be thought of as mean - always staying one trepiditious step away from that proverbial line we are always hearing so much about.
-September 20, 2004
Mean Creek is filled with characters that are not really mean, even when it seems that they are - these kids are sad products of how and where their growing up has occurred. Rory Culkin (I can't believe that I have enjoyed all three Culkins in movies within the last two years) plays a fourteen year old named Sam, who is tormented on a regular basis by the school bully, George, a big oafish-looking kid who keeps getting held back. Sam's older brother Rocky, along with Rocky's friends - brash Marty and timid Clyde - devise a plan to humiliate George in retaliation for beating up Sam (Sam's moral code won't let him fight back physically). Their plan is to toss him into the title'd creek, naked, and row away. The boys, along with Sam's would-be girlfriend Millie, set off into the wilderness for their inevitable destiny. Once the kids realize that George isn't really mean (I told you nobody was) but instead just as fucked-up as the rest of them, one by one they back out of their plan - all except Marty (actually with the great moniker of Martini Blank - perfection for a driftless young alcoholic).
Abandoned by his father through suicide and bullied himself by an older brother, Marty is the quintessential lost teenager being strangled by circumstance - nearly cliche'd but still well-played by Scott Mechlowicz. Marty is the only one that wants to floow through on their plan and after a series of confrontations aboard the boat, Mean Creek finally comes to its inevitable tragic climax.
In the wreckage of the aftermath, these children are suddenly, and permenantly metomorphisized into a harsh, brash, ugly adulthood. They must all come to grips with what they have done. Paced at a melencholy speed that serves to enhance its overall sadness and despair, Mean Creek may at times fall into cliche, but still manages to produce its intended feel for most of its running time.