The story doesnt tell you when it takes place but you get a sense that it is early to middle nineties as there is still a love for mixtapes and cassettes (good ol days) and there is no hint of cellphones, computers or technology. Watching this movie you get a complete sense of what it is like to be this kid in high school and to me it was shocking as I was unaware when I was in high school that some kids actually cared about getting into college or planning for their future. I thought I was living high and mighty at all the parties with mind expanding chemicals but I was moving closer to dying than actually living and this story places great emphasis that quality if life and on actually living means that we are actually all infinite beings. I can digg.
The author/director did such a good job directing that I would have thought someone with much more experience was behind this film, it did not feel artsy or independent or amateurish, this was a well thought out film that gets its story across without being the typical hackish Hollywood assault on our common senses. I wont give any spoilers as I think any body who loves movies would love this movie. I dont get emotionally wrapped in many movies let alone movies about high school kids but there are powerful stories that ask great questions and challenge many viewpoints on what it is to be alive. Being alive, being the strongest of any feeling a person can have. People are so scared of feelings and they hide in their safety, not having to experience what it is to be alive. Alot of people numb and isolate themselves in their "safe" habits. Drinking, drugs, eating, sex, money, possession all have the common theme of attempting to hide and avoid real feelings or to create them when life is so dull that there is no true emotion. Society is confining in many ways of actually trying to be alive, but as life consists of moments, what you make of those moments is what you make of being really alive or just existing. But there are moments and you know what they are because they are right there in the forefront of your mind, moments when you believed you could do anything, moments that you didnt want to end, moments you could get lost in, moments that need no pictures as they are as visible today as they were when they happened. They stand out when so many other routine moments just get lost in the mix of everyday living. Everyone had these moments and sometimes they are few and far between, but never forget them as they are what life is really about.
See this movie, the direction is great, story is superb, and the acting is powerful. I was expecting Emma Watson to start screaming at Harry about potions class but she was excellent with her American accent and you forget that it is Ms. Granger. The music in the film is awesome and that usually can make or break a movie for me and with Bowie, The Smiths, Sonic Youth you cannot go wrong. Fully enjoyed this movie.
