Marfa Girl

Six years is a long hiatus, especially since Larry Clark was popping movies out almost annually for a while. After that much of a break, you'd expect a filmmaker to come back with something new, engaged with different subjects. But then again, this is Larry Clark we're talking about. All of his work is a variation on a theme. "Marfa Girl" takes a few new turns even if it's firmly rooted in the director's obsessions.

The title is somewhat misleading. Yeah, the movie is set in Marfa, Texas. That's not the misleading part. Instead, the movie is actually about a boy, not a girl. Fifteen year old Adam, about to turn sixteen, is the protagonist. He skates, is in a band, occasionally enjoys a pot cigarette, is friends with a sexually liberated young mother, and is currently trying to get into his girlfriend's pants. His mom rehabilitates parrots and is heavily involved in the local spiritualist and art scene. She's friends with a twenty-something artist, the titular Marfa Girl, a young lady who believes in free love and equality of genders. Connecting all the story threads is Tom, a border patrol cop with sadomasochistic fantasies, misogynistic tendencies, and an unhealthy obsession with Adam and his mom.

"Marfa Girl" is edgier then "Wassup Rockers" but is still more gentle then the majority of the director's films. As you'd expect, the film is loosely plotted, rolling from one encounter to another. The pacing is relaxed, instead of belabored. Once again, Clark has successfully put us into these kids' lives. There's not much of a score and what is there is odd, chiptune music. The film is named after its setting because Marfa is a character onto itself. It's clear that the odd mixture of artists, spiritualists, disaffected kids, and border patrol cops that makes up the town was Clark's main inspiration. After watching the film, you feel like you know what a day in the sleepy town must feel like.

As is expected with Clark by this point, among the teenage sex scenes, drugs, and violence, are genuinely touching or intriguing moments. An early moment, when Adam's mom talks with a friend about loosing pets and reincarnation, really impressed me. Though the movie seems to implicitly suggest that the whole conversation is ridiculous, the emotion the moment sums up is true. Another stand-out moment is Adam and the Marfa Girl's discussion about sexism and double standards. This leads to an encounter with two Mexican border patrol cops, starting a heated conversation. Clark continues to do intimate conversation well. The Girl has a revealing conversation with the mellower of the two cops, about his military history. An earlier date with another artist is charmingly awkward. Even the villainous Tom gets a revealing monologue near the end. Surprisingly, the sex scenes, only a few of which involve teenagers, have a gentle, romantic tone to them, making this, perhaps, Clark's first legitimately erotic film.

Adam is your standard Clark protagonist: Obsessed with sex with no clear direction in life. His sweet relationship with his Mom makes him different though. Adam Mediano has a natural charisma as an actor and it's not impossible to see him going on to a real acting career. Drake Burnette as the titular character does very well, being spunky and lovable. She can't make all her heavy dialogue work but the actress is still likable. I didn't care for what happens to her in the last act though. That felt unnecessary. I especially liked Indigo Rael as Adam's friend Donna. She's a complex character, a mother, a teen, and sexually open. Mary Farley is also strong as Adam's mom.

Tom is the most fascinating character in the film. He's a total creep. Aside from needlessly harassing Adam, he makes sexist remarks to a young waitress, tricks a fast food clerk into a date that transforms into a possible sexual assault, and shows Adam's mom disturbing "blue waffle" pictures. For most of the film, he comes off as a thinly developed villain. His eventual acts of violence and sexual assault aren't surprising. Frankly, his admittance of getting turned on by violence is awkwardly presented and Clark falling back on shock value and boners. However, the character's monologue, were he discusses his past and his relationship with his father, are oddly powerful. Jeremy St. James actually gives a fantastic performance, making Tom an ugly creep but also, oddly easy to watch.

The movie concludes with violence. You could say this is lazy. However, the middle section of the movie, which includes a long drug trip in a school gym, drags on. The whole movie sets up this conflict between Adam and Tom. The ending is a fine pay-off to this. The resolution puts a nice emotional bow on the story.

So "Marfa Girl" is about half/half. It's a lot of the same stuff you'd expect from the director by now. Its dreamy tone is sometimes entrancing, sometimes boring. The script is unbalanced between captivating character study and directionless location piece. I both like the town and have no desire to ever visit it. All things considered, it's what I would expect from the director at this point in his career.

Clark released the movie independently as a streaming rental through his website, with no intention of ever releasing it to theaters or home video. He hopes to reach the kids this way. Maybe he will. I don't know what young people will think out of "Marfa Girl." It won't change detractors mind and it could potentially either surprise or bore Clark defenders. Despite it's issues, it's still the filmmaker's best work in years.

Larry Clark the director of this flick became notorious for a few reasons. He is known to use non-actors in his flick. For most parts he did. He just picked up teenagers from the street and let them act in his flicks. But what the teenagers had to do was shocking for some. His first flick Kids (1995) made in full grunge bloom he let kids under-aged smoke cigarettes. It shocked the world back then but it put his name on the map. From there on he made the still unreleased flick in the US, Ken Park (2002). Again teenager were picked from the street to perform sexual acts on-camera. Teenage Caveman (2002) was another perfect example.

Always the theme in his flicks are youth skating around and bore themselves a lot. It shows in this picture that not all is the American dream. This flick takes place on borderland. You know what you will get, the typical Romeo And Juliette situations. But here Larry Clark goes a bit further. Were he wasn't afraid to show naked breasts from teenagers (always above 18) here in Marfa Girl I was surprised that they go all the way this time with even boner shots. It's all just on the edge of getting in trouble as filmmaker but he still does it and was never sentenced or whatsoever.

Of course the border patrol has the annoying cop who never got laid with the ones crossing the border and he's out to catch some chica available for his needs. You can see it coming that it turns out wrong. It's just a depressive flick were teenagers are doing it with each other because there's nothing else to do...

This isn't a flick for everybody due a lot of blah blah going on and some music being made by the teenagers also going on for ever and of course the nudity shown. Were Ken Park did had a good story here it hasn't. But it's out there if you want to see were Larry is famous for.

Gore 0/5 Nudity 2/5 Effects 0/5 Story 0/5 Comedy 0/5

Eh. Kinda interesting. Some good writing. Some good scenes. Some interesting. Some not so interesting. Classic Larry Clark themes done well.

It's clear this movie basically does what it wants - which is fine by me. But y'know, that doesn't always makes for the best film or sometimes it does. The acting in places is very naturalistic, in others forced but overall it creates a good feel for the town and it's people. I guess this is what it was going for so well done.

I don't think this has the lasting impression KEN PARK had on me but it has graphic sex, teenagers talking about sex, skateboarding, smoking weed. Who am I to complain? Clark, at this point, just makes art and I just watched it. It feels stupid even rating it or writing this review.

Well done LC keep up the good work.

Had potential, but squanders it.

A movie set in a small Texas town, near the border with Mexico. Follows a few characters in their dull, everyday lives, and how they are all affected by the presence of the Border Patrol.

The movie had heaps of potential, especially with regard to the issue of illegal immigration in the US. How this affects race relations, especially with Hispanic people, was also a great possibility.

However, while it touches on these issues, there is no real, or at least thoughtful, examination. The movie might as well have been set in the middle of the US in an all-white community it was so superficial.

The setting is really just a vehicle for a random, pointless plot (and I use the word "plot" very broadly here). The conclusion is quite impactful, but it almost doesn't have a context, what goes before is so unfocused.

Many of the scenes are there just for shock value, but you expect nothing less from writer-director Larry Clark (director of Kids, Bully and Ken Park).

Dialogue often consists of long monologues, telling some tale of personal woe but with no real context, interspersed with simplistic, pop, cereal-box philosophy. It often feels like you're watching someone being interviewed for a documentary, especially when that someone doesn't really want to be there.

Throw in performances that vary from OK to utter rubbish and you have an incredibly poor movie. Some of the performances are among the worst I have ever seen in a movie (and I've seen some of Kristen Stewart's movies...). Lindsay Jones as the teacher is mind-bogglingly bad.

Avoid.

Well there is one scene/segment in the movie that could easily be called that. It may be even called that in the scene selection - it would make sense. Apart from that, if you know Larry Clarke you know what to expect. Nudity, intercourse, swearing, violence and general drama.

Families are torn apart, but there is a lot of talking, a lot of social criticism. If you are into that, this can be enjoyable. Much of what is said, is supposed to shock though and if you are not bigotted, it may just seem obvious. Now it may sound a bit weird that a man of Clarkes age is still doing movies about the youth and the discovery of sexuality. You'll either find this refreshing or weird. Whatever the case you know what to expect