Mean Creek on DVD (2004)

Intelligent and interesting

Graeme Barton from London, UK , 25/05/2005

This is the sort of teen movie they should show in schools. It's an inteligent look at bullying and what happens when kids take things into their own hands. The film features a strong performance from Rory Culkin who is the target of the schoolyard bully.

This film is absorbing and makes good use of its rural setting with strong cinematography and direction from debutant, Jacob Aaron Estes.

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school report: good effort but must remember to follow through

Rip from Manchester [Highly rated reviewer] , 12/04/2006

Great film, it evokes sympathy with the unlikable character but also creates an understanding of other's dislike of him. This balance of character study is well crafted.

I look forward to the second half, I hope it comes out soon as I would like to see what happens.

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this film was awesome!

Daniel Dickson from Retford, Nottinghamshire , 06/10/2005

this film was one of the best ive seen in a while, their are mixed reviews for this film because it ends giving the viewer different perceptions, i enjoyed the ending to this film, beacause it showed another side to the bully that was misunderstood, which when you see the film for a second time gives you a different potrayal of the kid.

the idea may have been basic, but the point to it was the outcome and the sudden drastic changes it made to their lives.

great acting, great story, great charecters. loved it!!

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Revenge is never sweet

Tommi from London, England , 20/11/2005

A venomous bully, George, gets his comeuppance when a prank goes terribly wrong. The beautiful location (albeit ironic in contrast to the nature of the film) is heavenly - the cinematography wonderful. The actors are superb and whilst their characters aren't deeply profiled it's easy to sympathise with their mutual mental scar; a consequence of their revenge. Despite the slow tempo, it's very enjoyable and totally absorbing. The abrupt end is simply a way of portraying a memory that these children will share for the rest of their lives.

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Indie gem...

A customer from London, UK , 17/12/2005

As the quote on the cover sleeve suggests, Jacob Aaron Estes has managed to create something of the mood of 'Stand By Me' in this excellently paced thriller. Indeed, like the seminal film of Stephen King's short story 'The Body', 'Mean Creek' is essentially a rites of passage movie which revolves around a corpse. If I'm being honest I was initially a little concerned about the plot of this film because I had seen the trailer in the cinema and felt that it had given the game away. My worries were unfounded however, as what this film does is to position the audience very cleverly in relation to the main event and create an uncomfortable feeling of horrible inevitability. Instead of focussing on what might be about to happen next as with a suspense thriller, you end up being more attuned to the exact series of occurences that lead to the central moment. The result is a narrative in which all the protagonists' actions and responses are properly considered. This is helped by a fantastic young cast and a directorial eye which allows the energies of the characters to flourish whilst also maintaining a beautiful sense of the wider picture. The use of the natural world to counterpoint this very human tragedy was particularly effective and reminded me at times of Kim Duk's 'Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter and Spring...' and also of Terence Malick's masterpiece 'The Thin Red Line'. Although this film is not the most original, it really is one of the best American films I have seen for some time.

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A little Creeky.

A customer from North East , 21/01/2006

If you looking for something to keep your thriller taste buds beating, it gets to some of them, a reasonable attempt at a 'Stand by me' type thriller posing the scenario of the outcast getting it from the 'gang'. Good viewing. Worth a rent !

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