Young boys growing up and experiencing life while going to a Catholic school is a fairly familiar story and when it ends I asked myself if this film had anything new to offer. It doesn't but there are some effective moments and performances that keep this from being a total disappointment. Story takes place in the 1970's at a Catholic school called St. Agatha's and four young boys are the central characters. Francis Doyle (Emile Hirsch) and Tim Sullivan (Kieran Culkin) are best friends along with Wade (Jake Richardson) and Joey (Tyler Long) and the four of them pull preposterous pranks against their school and also collaborate on a comic book story that is called "The Atomic Trinity". At school they are constantly being criticized by Sister Assumpta (Jodie Foster) who is a very strict nun and one night they decide to steal a statue from the school and instantly they are suspected of the crime. Francis starts to date Margie Flynn (Jena Malone) and they get along very well until she confides in him a very dark secret.
*****SPOILER ALERT*****
Margie tells Francis that she had an incestuous relationship with her brother and now he is unsure about how to continue dating her. He asks Father Casey (Vincent D'Onofrio) for some advice but doesn't get the answer that he is seeking. Meanwhile, Tim has devised a plan on tranquilizing a cougar and putting into Sister Assumpta's room but during this prank something horrible occurs.
This film is directed by Peter Care who has directed many music video's but this is his first effort with anything resembling a budget. Care does an adequate job of telling this story but the script lacks conviction in both plot and character development. Culkin is the king of all pranks and clearly doesn't take what is taught to him in school seriously but in one scene while carrying a dying dog he starts to yell about this animal not being cared for. This reveals a dark part of his persona but the script never dwells into it and we are left wondering about this part of him. The part of the plot about Malone and her brother seems a bit overwrought for the mood and tone and I never had a sense of what this film was trying to say. A film like "American Graffiti" could balance both comedy and drama but one of the flaws here is that this film does not do that well at all. Both Hirsch and Culkin are solid and Malone continues to show great promise but the script lacks focus with their roles in correlation with the rest of the film. Foster for the most part plays her part one dimensionally and uninspired and seems to just go along with what was written for her without developing the character for her own. The only originality comes from the film balancing both the live action and the animated sequences and it does a fairly good job of reflecting their inner most fantasies through their comic book stories. The films comedy isn't as humorous as "Heaven Help Us" and it also doesn't possess the dark tone and edge of "The Devil's Playground". This film attempts an emotional ending but with the lack of focus and conviction in the story it doesn't occur.
*****SPOILER ALERT*****
Margie tells Francis that she had an incestuous relationship with her brother and now he is unsure about how to continue dating her. He asks Father Casey (Vincent D'Onofrio) for some advice but doesn't get the answer that he is seeking. Meanwhile, Tim has devised a plan on tranquilizing a cougar and putting into Sister Assumpta's room but during this prank something horrible occurs.
This film is directed by Peter Care who has directed many music video's but this is his first effort with anything resembling a budget. Care does an adequate job of telling this story but the script lacks conviction in both plot and character development. Culkin is the king of all pranks and clearly doesn't take what is taught to him in school seriously but in one scene while carrying a dying dog he starts to yell about this animal not being cared for. This reveals a dark part of his persona but the script never dwells into it and we are left wondering about this part of him. The part of the plot about Malone and her brother seems a bit overwrought for the mood and tone and I never had a sense of what this film was trying to say. A film like "American Graffiti" could balance both comedy and drama but one of the flaws here is that this film does not do that well at all. Both Hirsch and Culkin are solid and Malone continues to show great promise but the script lacks focus with their roles in correlation with the rest of the film. Foster for the most part plays her part one dimensionally and uninspired and seems to just go along with what was written for her without developing the character for her own. The only originality comes from the film balancing both the live action and the animated sequences and it does a fairly good job of reflecting their inner most fantasies through their comic book stories. The films comedy isn't as humorous as "Heaven Help Us" and it also doesn't possess the dark tone and edge of "The Devil's Playground". This film attempts an emotional ending but with the lack of focus and conviction in the story it doesn't occur.