Paranoid Park: Review By Moviejunkie4

In Gus Van Sant's quietly disturbing "Paranoid Park," teenagers look, sound and act like teenagers. I mention this because it places this film in bold relief against other current movies about teenagers, where teens are self-assured, beautiful and far more mature than any of their real-life counterparts ever actually are. For this I applaud Van Sant, and it's largely what makes "Paranoid Park" such a compelling viewing experience.

The awkward teen at the center of Van Sant's film is Alex, who inadvertently causes the grisly death of a rail yard security guard, and the guilt that haunts him sends him fleeing from the weight bearing down on him. Van Sant does a good job of constructing his film to resemble the inner workings of a distracted teenage mind. Alex decides to write down the secret haunting him, and his attempts to get it down in words are what we see play out on screen. There are interruptions and moments told out of chronology that only make sense after moments that come later.

The cinematography is very poetic, Gus Van Sant is known for his style of long shots of people walking, often in slight slow-motion. I'm a fan of long scenes with no cuts. Sometimes the best moments are the quiet takes of Alex walking along the grassy ends of the beach and all that can be heard is the shore.

If you like Van Sant films, you'll like this one. For those who haven't seen a Van Sant film, I'd say give it a chance. His tight film-making skills are exhibited throughout in what has to be considered as an experimental picture wherein an uncanny blend of hand-held, slow-mo' scenic inter-cuts, out-of-sync shots and mellow off-screen alternative music carve a moody yet nonchalant atmosphere that at times suggests that this is an independent crime-mystery drama, at others: a tale of boy becomes man. Whatever it is, it brings to mind the likes of Memento and Brick. Hence, it is simply brilliant. Mystifying, moving and quite majestic. Paranoid Park is one of this year's most haunting and interesting features that is genuinely up there with Van Sant's finest work thus far.