Yesh4

As a teenager myself, I absolutely love teen movies and have probably seen most of them. This one I stumbled on to, I think when I was reading something about James Dean. I had heard of him being a legend etc. but I never really paid much attention to ''old Hollywood movies'' but this one looked really good plus I wanted to see what made Jimmy Dean so legendary. I mean to have only done three movies before his untimely death and to be regarded as one of the best actors of all time he must have done something right.

Well I must say that if there ever has been a more beautiful man that James Dean was, I have not seen him! He just exuded coolness in that iconic red jacket. Normally I would think ''yeah right, someone as attractive as James Dean being an outcast!''. However, he portrayed his character with shyness,innocence and angst or something that really made you empathise and believe his character.

In terms of the issues explored in the movie, it really is something that I haven't seen many times before. Normally, in teen movies the focus is friends or getting laid etc. but this focuses on something way more important to teens' lives: parents. James' character how all he wanted was to do something right and be appreciated by his parents. How he wanted his dad to stand up to his mum who stripped his dad of his dignity. And Natalie Woods' who just wanted her dad to show her love and affection.I think the most interesting character was Plato, his estranged parents meant that he had no family, so wanted Jim and Judy to be his family. I felt that Plato's obsession with Jim bordered on homosexual and that's one of the many ways that made the film ahead of its time.

To sum up, everyone should go and see this movie, amazing performances and even though it's so old it doesn't feel dated and we can all relate to it. The events happening aren't realistic but the portrayal of teen angst is the most realistic I've seen and makes the film compelling down to the last second.

Okay I just wanna say straight off the bat that this isn't everybody's type of movie. I hadn't read the stories(written by James Franco on which this is based) so I didn't really know what I'd expect, but I am a massive James Franco fan. And I wasn't disappointed his supporting role was one of his best and most convincing I've seen of him.

There isn't really an apparent plot- some may not like it because of this, but I think that's the best aspect of it- it's just a realistic portrayal of teen life. And being a teen myself, really enjoy teen movies and can relate to this one. Many dismiss this film as 'nepotism' but don't let that put you off, every actor is superb at playing their character in this film:Jack Kilmer as the angsty stoner, Emma Roberts as the shy virgin, Franco as the pervy coach and Nat Wolf as the guy who desperately is trying to be crazy. All these actors are going places.

To conclude, 'Palo Alto' is definitely worth checking out. Gia Coppola's debut is an interesting movie with captivating performances and you'll especially enjoy it if you love teen movies.