The Standard

Just saw this at my college in Western Washington. First off I should point out that we usually have pretty lame guests, so having a real filmmaker bring a real film was quite the treat. So writer/director Jordan Albertsen was our guest, and sneak previewed an "almost finished" version of his film "The Standard". All I can say is wow. It left me speechless. It's defiantly best to go into this movie not knowing much about it. It's an extremely powerful film, and quite the debut for Mr. Albertsen (who was only 22 when he shot it!). The trailer would lead you to believe that it's a regular "coming of age" type film, but if anything it rips apart those clichés. I really don't want to go into any spoilers, but I will say that this is a movie that not everyone is going to like, but is a film everyone should see. It will defiantly spark controversy, and discussion (believe me, people are still talking about it). Everyone really seemed blown away by the film. Jordan Albertsen has made a film unlike any other I can think of, and it's very bold. I can't wait to see it again, and look forward to seeing what else Jordan has to offer the world of film.

I was an extra in this movie almost a year ago (I showed up every day and appear in several scenes), and just yesterday went to see it at the Seattle International Film Festival. I absolutely LOVED it! It's extremely honest and really captures what high school is like.

I really identified with the main character, and the ending, even though I knew what it was based on my presence at the set, really managed to catch me by surprise and left me with a heavy feeling in my heart.

There were a couple of flaws: some of the swearing was a little unrealistic (though teenagers do swear constantly), and the characterization of the teachers wasn't always completely consistent. It's title is also a little unimaginative. But overall it's still one of the best movies I've ever seen, and for that reason I'm giving it a full 10.

The Standard, which is said to have been based almost entirely on actual events and characters of Jordan Albertsen's teenage days, is a remarkably accurate portrayal of the life of a high schooler in the 21st century. Gone are the days of Fast Times... & Dazed and Confused - what The Standard delivers is the unfeathered truth of what high school means to today's teenagers.

Dealing with issues of friendship, girls, drugs and the standardization of high school curriculum, the film follows the lives of a handful of teenagers as they struggle to make it through their final month of the school year. With graduation near, Dylan is forced to reconsider his post-high school plans of moving to Boston with his girlfriend Gina. Feeling the pressure from his school, friends, Gina and his father, Dylan and the rest of the cast take us through a roller-coaster ride of the life of a high-schooler.

The Standard is filmed in a raw, realistic manner giving the audience full perspective into the lives of the characters. Edgy and daring, the film does not hesitate to break the rules of conventional story telling. Breathtaking scenery and an educated use of the camera (with shots borrowed from the early likes of Welles and others) is sure to remind the audience of what cinematography used to mean to the filmmaker.

With an outstanding cast of popular young actors and a few recognizable faces for the older folk, The Standard is sure to deliver an entertaining and heartfelt cinematic experience that'll leave the audience talking for days.

This is the first movie based on high school life that I've seen that actually resembled high school. The dialogue is dead on, the characters are real, you knew (or know) people like this in your high school. You can watch the situations unfold and almost know what will happen, because you've been there before.

The movie centers around Dylan, who doesn't know what he wants to do with his life. All around him are adult figures who are putting on the pressure to make the "right" decision and take action for his future, while he's just trying to get through the last two weeks before graduation when he'll be home free with his girlfriend.

The Standard breaks away from the "clean view" of high school that most movies portray. It shows what it's like to be a frustrated teen who isn't ready to make the big decisions, or just doesn't want to yet. It allows you to feel that pressure again, of life sneaking up, of feeling like your decisions will be made without thought because everyone wants you to do what they tell you to do.

The movie comes to an eye-opening finish, giving you an accurate final vision of how high school, along with life in general, truly is.

This movie was shown to my cinema 201 class and the second it was over i immediately wanted to watch it again. The story is very clever and the ending is very surprising. There is a lot of good humor in the movie that high school and college aged people would really enjoy. The actors were all really good and their characters were very believable. This movie deals with what high school is really like and how stressful it is and the many different things teenagers deal with. After the movie was shown Jordan Albertsen the director answered all of our questions and talked to us about the making of his movie. It was really awesome to hear what he had to say and the input that he shared with us about making a film was really beneficial and interesting. I suggest that everyone sees this movie! it is great!