Paranoid Park (2007)

Director:

Gus Van Sant

Writers (WGA):

Gus Van Sant (screenplay)
Blake Nelson (novel)

Release Date:

24 October 2007 (Belgium)

Genre:

Drama

Plot:

A teenage skateboarder's life begins to fray after he is involved in the accidental death of a security guard.

Plot Keywords:

Flash Forward | Angst | Shopping Mall | Railroad Yard | Accidental Death

Awards:

2 wins & 4 nominations

Cast

Gabe Nevins	...	Alex
Daniel Liu	...	Detective Richard Lu
Taylor Momsen	...	Jennifer
Jake Miller	...	Jared
Lauren McKinney	...	Macy
Winfield Jackson	...	Christian
Joe Schweitzer	...	Paul
Grace Carter	...	Alex's Mom
Scott Patrick Green	...	Scratch
John Michael Burrowes	...	Security Guard
Jay 'Smay' Williamson	...	Alex's Dad
Dillon Hines	...	Henry
Emma Nevins	...	Paisley
Brad Peterson	...	Jolt
Emily Galash	...	Rachel

MPAA:

Rated R for some disturbing images, language and sexual content.

Runtime:

85 min

Country:

France | USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Sweden:15 | USA:R | Taiwan:R-12 (original rating) | Switzerland:12 (canton of Vaud) | Switzerland:12 (canton of Geneva) | Japan:PG-12 | Netherlands:12 | Australia:M | South Korea:15 | UK:15 | Brazil:12 | Canada:14A | Argentina:13 | Portugal:M/16 | Finland:K-13 | Ireland:15A | Norway:11

Filming Locations:

Burnside Skatepark, Portland, Oregon, USA

Company:

MK2 Productions

Trivia:

Chosen by "Les Cahiers du cinéma" (France) as one of the 10 best pictures of 2007 (#01)

Goofs:

Continuity: When Alex goes to Rebel Skates he gets a board with white wheels. Later after the scene where Alex and Jennifer discuss condoms, the board Alex carries is a different board with green wheels. Later he has the board with white wheels again.

Movie Connections:

References "South Park" (1997)

Soundtrack:

Tunnelmouth Blues

disappointing

Guilt, remorse, budding sexual confusion - skateboarder Alex has to deal with all these things in the days following his visit with friends to hardcore skateboard rink Paranoid Park.

The film spirals inevitably towards its centre, a piece of banal horror shot and displayed in brutal terms. Alex's horror becomes all too real; his angst seems unbearable.

But it takes too long to get there. We have interminable slow-mo shots of Alex walking in the school corridor. A slow-mo shot in the shower, where tropical birds inexplicably caw and crow in the background. He succumbs to the feral heat of his girlfriend's lust, but then dumps her in a dialogue-free sequence, played out against incongruous chamber-music BGM.

Van Saint test his instincts in this film. They come up short. The laconic style that works so well in Elephant is just bizarre here. An unworthy failure.