Jamie passion and passionfruit!

A pleasant surprise  of a film which is about teenage angst and many adjacent themes like hyperactive kids, the environment, addictions, the suburbs and frustrated dreams with a wild and wonderful bunch of characters who are normal enough to be credible and strange enough to be interesting.  Mike Mills and his team do a good job of transferring a novel to the screen and there is both good photography and a solid soundtrack to enjoy.  Lou Taylor Pucci as 17 year-old Joel is totally suitable for the part and holds the film’s centre very well.  We have solid performances from the ever watchable Tilda Swinton and the ever chameleonic Vincent D’Onofrio, a great little debut for Kelli Garner as the girlfriend, Rebecca and several supporting moments from the likes of Keanu Reeves and Benjamin Bratt.  The films throws a lot of interesting things at us and cruises along nicely to its inevitable ending.  Maybe it’s no classic but it is worth a watch and even makes Volver seem rather predictable.

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