Mean Creek review

A coming of age revenge story that calls to mind River's Edge and Deliverance, Mean Creek is a largely impressive effort from first time writer and director Jacob Aaron Estes. Thanks to an intelligent script and some dynamic performances from a young cast, the first half of the movie is gripping stuff, and looks at the subject of bullying in an honest and inventive light.

Sam (Rory Culkin, the youngest of the acting dynasty) is a young high school student with a problem. The film opens with him being brutally bullied by the large and fearsome George (Joshua Peck). We learn that this has been going on for some time and, despite his best intentions to appease George, the situation seems likely to get worse. Sam turns to his older brother Rocky (Trevor Morgan) for help. Rocky is the cool jock of the school, and comes up with the perfect plan to put one over on George: knowing that he can't swim they will take him on a boat trip, throw him in, and rescue him at the last moment.

Sam reluctantly agrees and his group befriend the bully. George is suspicious but agrees to go along, having never celebrated his birthday with anyone before. But when they take George on to the river, they discover a different side to him. As opposed to the ferocious ogre of the schoolyard, he turns out to be a funny, sensitive and intelligent kid. Sam wants to call off their practical joke, but Rocky decides to go ahead with it. A tragedy ensues, and the youngsters are faced with an unexpected moral dilemma.

Estes' screenplay - which has won numerous minor awards in the US - lifts the film from a standard revenge play into something classier. This is largely thanks to the depth he gives each of his characters and particularly notable in the questions it raises about the bully. While outwardly George is a terrible threat, we see his home life (through the video camera he uses to film everything around him) and realise that he is a rather sad and pathetic figure. Indeed, the two-dimensional aspect of all of the characters lifts the film above the norm.

The sparkling young cast - full of talent to watch - also helps matters enormously. Culkin and Morgan are terrific as the brothers, as is Carly Schroeder as Millie, the only girl in the group and Sam's first real girlfriend. But the star of the show is undoubtedly Joshua Peck who delivers a performance way beyond his years as the relentless bully.

Once the film's turning point arrives, the film does struggle a little to bring it to resolution and it belies much of its American indie nature. But overall this is memorable stuff with a cast that is more than likely to be knocking at Hollywood's door in the years to come.