Mean Creek

Year: 2004 Rating: R Overall Evaluation: 9.0 Significance Suppositions Story Style 10.0 / 10 10.0 / 10 7.0 / 10 9.0 / 10 Click HERE for evaluation criteria.

Style

Rated R for language, sexual references, teen drug and alcohol use. The language is pretty harsh for sensitive ears. There is no nudity although it is implied. There is also a minor scene involving a couple of completely unnecessary homosexual "parents". These are not major problems but should be noted.

Story

A group of high school aged friends take the local school bully out for a bit of his own medicine after he beats up one of their own. But what begins as a fairly typical get-revenge-on-the-school-bully story turns into an overwhelming moral struggle that these very different characters must deal with. Very moving and powerful.

[SPOILER WARNING!]

OK, it's pretty obvious from trailers, posters, the box, etc. that the bully gets killed. But that's not really the major point of the movie. It is the pivot of the story, but the climax comes when each member of the group responsible decides how they will ultimately face up to what they have done.

Suppositions

Basically they got everything right here. There is nothing unbelievable and more importantly there are extra layers added to each character (especially the bully) than you would expect from a movie such as this. These extra dimensions serve to show that reality is not as nice and neat as we might like. The various reactions each character has to the situation also exemplify what many people would do in similar situations based on character, upbringing, etc.

Significance

Depictions of mercy and anti-vengeance run through Act 2 and are very realistic and well done - nothing preachy. The message of the climax is one of somber realization of (gasp!) moral responsibility. This is loud and clear even when it is presented both negatively and positively through the final decisions of each character. Hollywood and Christian Filmmakers should pay attention to this fact: it is both possible and preferable to make movies with good moral messages that do not sacrifice story quality. This film does it right.