Although the rest of the film doesn't live up to the visceral and exciting opening, this is a good crime film by the controversial Larry Clark. Basically, in most crime films, everything goes wrong by the end, and that's no different here, so it treads familiar ground and doesn't really have anything new to say regarding juvenile delinquents, but Clark should be appreciated for his characterizations here. Every line of dialogue feels natural coming from each character's mouth, so the writing is very consistent, and the conversations that occur throughout the film are snappy and amusing for the most part. The critics were right about James Woods stealing the show, but the other three leads held their own well, and I was particularly impressed by the character transformation from Vincent Kartheiser.
The Reverend character was pointless though, and his introductory scene is just an unnatural way of getting the guns in the main characters' hands. He could've been cut out altogether, especially since his dialogue wasn't very well written or as funny as the writers may have thought. I liked the music used, especially in the club scene and the ending, and the cinematography was better than I expected. It looked especially good in the finale. There's a single gunfight that takes place in the film, which is directed so well and realistically that I wanted to see more, but this isn't an action movie as much as it is a character study, so it was a smart move to keep the action to a bare minimum. I get a real kick out of crime films with non-linear structures, and this is one of them. There's a plot, but the movie doesn't take a straightforward approach to get through it.
This film definitely isn't for everyone though, and I was a bit worried as it went one because it started to become tedious and lose my interest, but it manages to drastically pick up at the end as tragedy rears its ugly head. This isn't a film for anyone who's squeamish when it comes to vivid violence though, as well as people poking needles in their skin, but this is a Larry Clark film, so what else do you expect? He doesn't give a damn about his characters here, he's showing how pathetic and miserable their lifestyles are, and thus, one shouldn't expect to feel any sympathy for them even though the actors bring some added personality to the table. This isn't as bad as his other films in terms of what is shown, so I guess one could call it his most accessible film, and most are likely to think it's his most entertaining effort.
The Reverend character was pointless though, and his introductory scene is just an unnatural way of getting the guns in the main characters' hands. He could've been cut out altogether, especially since his dialogue wasn't very well written or as funny as the writers may have thought. I liked the music used, especially in the club scene and the ending, and the cinematography was better than I expected. It looked especially good in the finale. There's a single gunfight that takes place in the film, which is directed so well and realistically that I wanted to see more, but this isn't an action movie as much as it is a character study, so it was a smart move to keep the action to a bare minimum. I get a real kick out of crime films with non-linear structures, and this is one of them. There's a plot, but the movie doesn't take a straightforward approach to get through it.
This film definitely isn't for everyone though, and I was a bit worried as it went one because it started to become tedious and lose my interest, but it manages to drastically pick up at the end as tragedy rears its ugly head. This isn't a film for anyone who's squeamish when it comes to vivid violence though, as well as people poking needles in their skin, but this is a Larry Clark film, so what else do you expect? He doesn't give a damn about his characters here, he's showing how pathetic and miserable their lifestyles are, and thus, one shouldn't expect to feel any sympathy for them even though the actors bring some added personality to the table. This isn't as bad as his other films in terms of what is shown, so I guess one could call it his most accessible film, and most are likely to think it's his most entertaining effort.