Levelland

It's ironic how most films portray teenagers inacurately, and then are attended by many teens. She's All That, probably the prime exsample. I was glad I caught Levelland (at Tribecca Film Festival) because it didn't suck, it wasn't pretenous, and it was very accurate. This is a film teens all over the country can releate to, enjoyable without sidestepping darker issues. Sure it had a few very small flaws, but this film lived and breathed. The cast was effective, as was Clark Walker's direction. The skateboarding footage was well done and some montages did play on a little too long (with in exception for one that coems near the end, which is great). Ultomatly I hope Levelland will get some level of distribution, and soon: it's the movie that teens should see, it's not escapest entertainment but it sure is inspiring. This is probably the best teen indie since "The Adventures of Sabastain Cole".

First of all, Am I supposed to believe that Matt Barr is only 16 as they wish us to believe? I mean, I am 25 and I look closer to 16 than this guy does, I mean, When I first saw him, I thought he was the lead actors father, Not the lead actor. This movie was horribly written, Horribly shot. First let me discuss the dialog in this movie, The script sounded like it was a really bad 6th grade play. This movie had potential to take us into the world of skateboarders, A sport which I grew up with, But sadly, This movie centers around a supposed 16 year old (The obviously much older Matt Barr) and his School teachers sexual escapades. So instead of a good docu-drama, This turns into soft core porn with no point other than to show a couple of boobs and a few half hearted skateboard tricks. I rented this because it was the only new movie at BlockBuster I hadn't seen. Now, I wish I had just stuck with a favorite into venturing into the waters of this steaming cow turd.

I was surprised by 'Levelland.' Despite the synopsis of the box which, at least for me, alludes to a depressing coming-of-age story in the tradition of 'Kids,' this movie is actually a light, much more realistic approach to teenage confusion. While, unfortunately adhering to some of the usual suspects of recent coming-of-age tales (the young student having an affair with an older woman or the subplot of teenage pregnancy--which was ultimately cut from the movie, but can be seen in the DVD 'bonus materials'), it does without the conventional teenage stereotypes. The characters, though possessing some of that teenage crassness, as teenagers naturally do, they lack all unnecessary stereotypes and actually turn out to be very normal mediated versions of a real teenager. There's no set aside roles that they fit neatly within and, best of all, they're hardly obnoxious characters. They're very likable characters that we may empathize with.

This is a story that plays true to punk ethic, using skateboarding as the metaphor for escape in the story of a handful of friends in a depressing suburb in Texas (it is a cleaner version of 'Suburbia' and 'Over the Edge' in a sense). Zach, the main bildungsromane character, is necessarily more complex, especially for a teenager (though all of his friends appear to have more depth than the usually teen fare likes to make known), knowing that the freedom of skating and his love of the activity is the only thing keeping his from going insane in the bland suburban environment. I think someone in the film accurately defined skating as their survival.

Matt Barr, a fine fellow, was perfect in this role and hopefully, will be able to show off his craft in other features. As the atypical concept of the "skater," at least as stereotypical as Hollywood (and the indie circuit, too) likes to define them, that was the most enjoyable feature for me. Clark Walker gives us real characters, and real teenagers to deal with. Though, he probably would have to if the story is to be about transcending the mundane atmosphere of the suburbs.

One other viewer writes that the supporting cast was left largely underdeveloped. If you hear the commentary for the deleted scenes, you'll see that writer/director Clark Walker wanted all the focus to be on the main character, Zach. This is essentially his story and everything told from his point of view. Nonetheless, there were some moments where we do gain some insight about the supporting characters, but not enough to really think about. Maybe Walker wanted to avoid the multi-character function that Larry Clark, for example, provides in his films of teen angst.

Nonetheless, this was a surprisingly good drama. I would definitely recommend watching it. Skate fans should also appreciate ample skate footage and nice old punk soundtrack.

Suburbs, Skating and ESCAPE are the themes that fuel the directorial debut of Clark Walker. The story follows a group of friends bound by their passion of skating. Matt and company desperately want out of Levelland, Texas. To escape from the monotony of the suburbs, Matt company resolve to building ramps (with stolen materials.) Trespassing, and hitting the highways of Texas. The films successfully shows the diversity of the suburban culture and the isolation of the modern day youth.

The thing that I liked best about this movie was its heavy 80's era punk soundtrack. Sporting Black flag, Minutemen, Replacements and more. Overall the general storyline is easy to follow and works well. Being a kid from the suburbs i can relate to how much the characters want to escape from the plastic, cookie cutter life the suburbs provide.

Now this movie wasn't perfect by any means. Watching the film, it becomes obvious that this is Walker's first attempt at direction. Lackluster acting and bad dialog plague this film as slopping editing. Although halfway through the film i started seeing a significant improvement in the films quality as they become more comfortable acting and directing. The film severely redeemed itself in its second half from horrible to okay. I also had problems with Character development. So many characters were left UNDER developed. I knew so little about the supporting cast, while there were several tries to further develop them, they fell flat. As far as editing, there was tons of scenes and subplots that could have been left on the floor that could have made this nearly 2 hour long movie a more bearable 90 minute film. The subplot with Matt and his teacher did nothing for me what-so-ever, and felt pushed. Only in the film to give it more edge. Putting more drug usage would have made this film more believable and given it more credible "edge" that it needed.

Overall, this PG-13 KIDS set in the suburbs, was and alright indie film. I think this film will find its cult audience in the suburban kids it portrayed. A muddy first film, that will definitely will find its place among fans of the punk rock classic SUBURBIA, directed by Penelope Spheeris, who went on to do a great many films. So watch out for up and comer Clark Walker as i expect he may have a few more excellent films up his sleeve.

Levelland sums up high school life in a suburban town very well and is to be appreciated by skate fans. The film is far from slick, but relies on the strength of the acting talents of the two brothers and the stifling boredom of subdivisions and strip malls. The actors are not Hollywood pretty boys - they appear to do their own skating - and after a few minutes I was settled in to see a film that did NOT feel the need to shock or insult the audience. Life goes on, but there's no easy way out.

The soundtrack is impressive, but more geared for those in their 30's and 40's than high school kids. Texas Instruments, Big Boys, Replacements, Defenestration, and Meat Puppets are just a few bands to be featured.

A small part of me wishes it could have had a bigger budget, but all in all it will be a good archive for the time and place.