Bomb City

It's 1997 in Christian conservative Amarillo, Texas. Football is king. Brian Deneke is a young punk rocker struggling to make his punk club work. His circle of friends are often harassed by the police. Violence escalates between them and the local high school football players as the two sides meet in a deadly clash.

First, I love the twist in the trial. I almost gave up on that part of the movie until it delivers that big surprise. I would like to have Brian's name spoken out loud more. It's a normal movie proposition to accentuate the protagonist. It's also skewed too much on the punks' side of the story. It's expected but it would be more realistic to show some of their indiscretions. It's also missing a police raid on the club which should be expected in this type of movie. Overall, this is compelling true story and the surprise reveal really got me.

I cried almost as hard as I did at the end of SLC Punk. I'm a Texan, born & raised, and the events depicted here sicken me & make me ashamed to be a resident in a state with such a condemnable justice system. The awful truth is that, in the south, justice is not served for people who are considered "alternative" or outside the norm. People may not consider it "discrimination" to single out those who prefer a certain genre of music, who wear black clothing, or who have piercings & tattoos. But those things neither necessitate a criminal lifestyle, nor can they be used to assume criminal intent. Yet we find the same thing tends to happen over & over when you mix youths of strong, unpopular beliefs or a "weird" disposition with the small-town mob-mentality. The West Arkamsas 3 were wrongly tried & convicted, and spent nearly 20 years in prison based on coerced confessions from a mentally handicapped youth, despite a complete lack of evidence &, in fact, despite alibis & evidence exonerating them. Even after their eventual release, they were made to plead guilty & give up their right to ever contest their wrongful conviction. Those who dole out justice are exempt, it seems, from facing it themselves. And for this reason, I find myself fearful of my state's system of justice as a unique individual, and tearful of the injustices & "singling out" that not only I have faced firsthand, but that everyone even remotely different like me has come to experience.

You care about the people he cared about. You see Amarillo through Brian's eyes for better or worse. This may have happened or is happening right now in your town. It's a new tale on an old story instead of the greasers and the socias it's the preps and the punks.

Let me start by praising the outstanding cinematography in this film. The acting, especially by the leads, were all on point, particularly the punks.

Novice director, writer and editor Jameson Brooks (this was his first major film aside a handful of short films) did an impressive job for a novice director, but his writing was way too lose, and his editing was terrible.

Although only 95min length, it felt much longer with certain dragged out and slow-mo scenes that took away from the impact of those scenes. The pace needed to be faster, edited (cut) unnecessary prolonged scenes, and rid of some of the slow-mo shots that dragged the film. For the large amount of producers involved with this film, someone should have spoke up to re-write the screenplay to make it tighter.

Additionally, leaving out the fact the jock didn't get away without jail time (albeit for parole violations), detracts from the satisfaction (for karma) of some form of justice. This should have been displayed in the closing credits along with all the other factual notes: In June 2001 Camp was apprehended for underage drinking and was arrested for being a minor in the possession of alcohol. Michael Camp, father of Dustin, attempted to cover for his son's probation violations. Michael Camp was formally charged with making false statements to the police. He was sentenced to 60 days deferred adjudication (a type of probation) and a $100 fine after a plea bargain. In September 2001, Dustin Camp received an eight-year prison sentence for violating his probation.

Nevertheless, an enjoyable film worth seeing. It's no big Hollywood blockbuster, but yet pulled off quite well with B-grade actors and a novice director/writer. A well deserved 8/10 from me.

Beautifully shot, wonderfully acted, a true love letter to the life of Brian Deneke. I've been aware of the story since 1999. As a young punk at the time, it hit close to home. I grew up in suburbia Ontario (Canada) but witnessed many similar realities. This film had my wife and I both in tears. Very heavy, realistic and an over all eye opener. A+ honored to have it in my collection. A true indie gem. Watch the film.