Mean Creek: Synopsis

From a first-time writer/director and a promising group of young actors comes a chilling story that probes the moral dilemmas teens face in the pressure cooker of 21st century society. Jacob Aaron Estes’ “Mean Creek” turns the classic tale of an American bully on its head. When a group of teenage boys and one bold young girl seek playful revenge on the kid who has tormented them, nothing turns out the way they expected. What begins as a trip down a river and a childish prank soon turns into an eye-opening encounter with the enemy -- a harrowing journey into wilderness and an event that will force them to grapple with the very meaning of friendship and responsibility.

With “Mean Creek,” Estes (who won the prestigious Nicholl Fellowship in Screenwriting for his script) and his cast of rising young stars have created not only a suspenseful morality tale but a rare and revealing portrait of a new generation -- capturing the swagger and hidden insecurities, the posing and the yearning to fit in, the savvy and the barely contained aggression and, perhaps most of all, today’s fierce search for moral ground without any clear compasses. Using a handheld camera and a raw, visceral visual style that sets the audience adrift with the characters, the film provides a gritty, authentic and thought-provoking peek into growing up.

It all begins in a small Oregon town, when shy Sam (RORY CULKIN) confesses to his protective older brother Rocky (TREVOR MORGAN) that he is getting pummeled daily by the towering school bully George (JOSHUA PECK). Together, they plan the perfect payback, inviting George on a birthday river trip tailor-made to end in the bully’s humiliation. Rocky’s pals Clyde and Marty (RYAN KELLEY, SCOTT MECHLOWICZ) and Sam’s budding girlfriend Millie (CARLY SCHROEDER) also join the journey, which starts almost immediately with misgivings. Seeing George in a new light, as a lonely kid desperate for friendship and attention, Sam wants to call the whole thing off. But the boat and the plot are already in motion, and no one can foresee the surprises and accidents that are to come.

Like an adolescent “Heart of Darkness,” this adventure down the river turns a shadowy corner, kicks off a search for personal redemption and leads to sharply contrasting decisions that will haunt each of the teens’ lives forever.

There have always been bullies. Yet recent media stories have brought to light the serious and snowballing problem of extreme and violent bullying in American schools, already rife with cliques, in-groups and boiling social pressures. The latest figures from the American Medical Association suggest that one out of every ten public school students has been the victim of violent bullying and that up to 15% of all American teens have participated in the systematic bullying of another person.

Ironically, bullies are often kids who don’t fit in . . . and they in turn beat up, ridicule, intimidate and psychologically torment other kids who don’t fit in. It’s a vicious circle, fueled in large part by a youth culture characterized by rampant consumerism, sexuality and, most of all, the overwhelming pressure to dress like, look like and act like everybody else.