Diário de um Adolescente

For the past few years, "The Basketball Diaries" has been blamed for a rash of disconnected school massacres in the United States. The anti-media zealots who blame school violence on the fantasy sequence, where Jim Carroll(Leonardo DiCaprio) barges into his classroom to kill everyone in sight, starting with his teacher, ignore the facts, as usual.

The reasons that Carroll fantasized about this killing spree were; 1)The teacher got a sick thrill from beating his pupils, and 2)Carroll was high on heroin. Of course, one does not need to become a drug addict, in order to desire revenge against power mad tyrants, who exploit people that they believe themselves to be morally superior to. As for the kids of Columbine High, and other pre-Columbine mass-murderers, most of them were either bullies, or victims of bullies. The fact that they were fans of this movie is irrelevant. If what I'm saying isn't true, then perhaps the opponents of free speech would like to tell me why there weren't a rash of school shootings following the 1968 movie "If..."

Rent, or buy an original copy of this film for the following reasons; 1)The talent of Leonardo DiCaprio, 2)The explanation for that controversial fantasy sequence, and 3)The music video for the song "People Who Died,' by the REAL Jim Carroll, just in case you thought that when he made that song 20 years ago, he was only kidding.

I remember that when the Columbine shootings happened, some people blamed "The Basketball Diaries". When I saw the movie, I couldn't understand the connection at all. True, there's a school shooting scene, but focusing only on that misses the movie's point. The movie is the true story of New York teenager Jim Carroll (Leonardo DiCaprio) and how he descended into the ugly world of drug addiction. If you're squeamish, then I should warn you that there are some pretty nasty scenes of drug addiction and what happens.

Yes, it's ugly what happens, but that's what makes the movie so good: they're not afraid to get down and dirty. Also starring are Lorraine Bracco as Jim's mother, Mark Wahlberg as Jim's friend, Bruno Kirby as the high school coach, Juliette Lewis as an acquaintance, and Ernie Hudson as a man who saves Jim from dying out in the cold.

Like I said, this is not a movie for the fainthearted. But otherwise, I truly recommend it.

When you've watched plenty of movies based on some drug-addict life story you can't help compare them... I mean, the story is always the same: a guy begins having drugs for fun, or because he's boring, or just because he's young and wants to try new experiences, then he gets hooked, starts to rob or to prostitute himself, and eventually ends up in prison. That's what we see in Christiane F., El Pico, Trainspotting, Drugstore Cowboy... There may be differences in the form, and in the characters, but the content is always the same.

The dinstictive feature of Basketball Diaries is that the main character actually exists: Jim Carroll, a writer-singer-performer born in NYC in the 50's. And this is supposed to be his autobiography (or the cinema adaptation of some diaries he wrote when he was a teenager, heroin-addicted). Because of that, Basketball D. is more poetic than the rest of the movies I named before, the voice over of DiCaprio's character is present all along the film, telling us about his thoughts (rather nihilistic's) , with a style near to Burroughs or Jack Kerouac, urban poetry, tough and without ornament. Maybe that's the strong point of Basketball Diaries, because movies such as Christiane F. or El Pico recreates much better what it means to be a drug-addict, they're much more explicit, more dirty, much harder...

DiCaprio's performance deserves a new paragraph, 'cause it's simply astonishing. His best performance EVER, plenty of different shades. As he did in Gilbert Grape or This Boy's Life, he shows us how versatile he can be. If only he'd choose better the films he works in.

My rate: 7/10

An uncompromising script and a solid performance from Leonardo Di Caprio help make THE BASKETBALL DIARIES a powerful and memorable film experience. Leo plays Jim Carroll, a high school student with a love of basketball and a flare for writing whose life goes right down the toilet when he becomes a heroine addict. Yes, perhaps Leo gets hooked a little too quickly but everything that happens to him after he gets hooked is totally real. Along with CLEAN AND SOBER, this movie so clearly and honestly demonstrates where drug addiction can take you...how nothing else becomes important but how and where that next high is coming from. There is one harrowing scene after another here. We see Jim returning to his mother (Lorraine Bracco) after being kicked out of the house and we see Jim turn from begging child to threatening thug in a matter of seconds, a scene brilliantly performed by DiCaprio. We see Jim and his friends beat up an old lady for her purse and we even see Jim prostitute himself with a man in order to get money. It's a frightening and realistic spiral downward that Jim takes and he does make it back, but it is important to remember when watching this film that a lot don't. DiCaprio gets solid support from future star Mark Wahlberg, Bruno Kirby, Jr., Juliette Lewis, and Michael Imperioli. A harrowing film experience that will not be forgotten once the credits roll.

There is a type of disease associated with St. Vitus and this film qualifies in the comparison because it's quirky, fast, and it never stops moving. Director Scott Kalvert gives the movie a 'look' that makes the Manhattan of the period when it supposedly takes place, believable.

Leonardo DiCaprio was at his best in the film. His performance is very nuanced and in your face, at the same time. Mr. DiCaprio makes you feel the pain Jim is going through; he is a lost soul. Not being a fan of Mark Wahlberg, I must confess that in this film, be it because of the direction, or whatever, he shines, as Mickey.

As Jim's mother, Lorraine Bracco has never been better in anything she has been in recent memory. Bruno Kirby is perfectly creepy as the coach of St. Vitus High School.

As far as the connection with the Columbine School massacre, since the sequence where Jim is involved is a dream, it's easy to understand how the twisted minds of the ones responsible for the killings would have taken this scene as a model for their terrible crime.