Real Review - Paranoid Park

The reviews had been generally good for this small, independent film, so trusting my instincts I settled into my chair and watched Paranoid Park. All I knew of the film was that it was about a teenage boy who liked to skateboard, but a tragic event had upset his world. Directed by Gus Van Sant, the renegade Hollywood director who seems to prefer making art films to Hollywood blockbusters, I knew this would be the kind of film I needed to break free from my recent slate of popcorn flicks.

The plot revolves around Alex, played by first-timer Gabe Nevins, and his attempt to deal with a harrowing event. Alex and his friend Jake started hanging out at Paranoid Park where the good skateboarders went, but one day Alex went alone and was soon pulled into a freight-train hopping adventure by a stranger. After jumping the train, the boys are spotted by the night watchman. What would happen next would change everything for Alex.

The film’s narrative is built around Alex writing his memories of the event in his notebook. Alex tells us that he not very good at creative writing, but would get everything down on paper, though not necessarily in perfect order. This explains the plot jumping forward and backwards in the film. The director, Van Sant, obviously is stretching his creative wings with the narrative, and also with the use of slow motion effects, musical interludes atop long stretches of Alex sitting on the beach, walking the halls of his school, and learning advanced skateboard tricks in his driveway and at Paranoid Park. I was indeed impressed by the direction of Paranoid Park as I tend to like art-house films.

Tone plays an important element in Paranoid Park. As Alex is characterized by his existential dilemma, not knowing how to deal with his friends, family, or the memory of the “big event,” he soon withdraws into inner solitude and an emotional vacuum. Though I wouldn’t call the film melancholy, it has a distinctly “down” feel to it, almost as if the characters exist without a soul. As an example, Alex’s girlfriend wants to have sex with Alex, but it is done without any emotional involvement. Alex even says later that it was her idea, and that he was just going along with her.

Paranoid Park is not a feel-good movie, but somehow it draws you into the world of Alex and the skateboarding community. Though the conclusion of the film doesn’t include any type of emotional break-through for Alex, we realize that his method for dealing with the tragedy is indeed satisfactory and the only possible solution for him.

Rating: 7.5

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