State's Evidence

I use to be big into the independent scene, but recently it's been failing me. So, because I work at a major movie rental company, I've been forced to watch more mainstream movies or be bored out of my wits. However, State's Evidence kept me glued to my set, waiting for what was going to happen next. I think the casting was great, and not being to far gone from my teen years, I can look back and associate with most of the characters, but mainly Scott. So, I am going to be forcing my regulars to watch this movie...

BAD STUFF -Audio is a bit out of sync. -Not family friendly

GOOD STUFF -Made me think -Suspenseful

I got to see this movie in the Asheville Film Festival, towards the end of 2004. The description grabbed me, guy takes a camera to school to film his last days leading up to his suicide.... What I witnessed was simply extraordinary.... I personally believe, every parent should be forced to watch this movie, because it breaks down the issues of Child Suicide and the mentality that goes along with it, and what it can cause. Being not too far removed from my teenage years, I understood things like the Columbine Masacre and other such child tragedies. This movie finally brought that into the spotlight, and if you really watched this movie, you will get a glimpse at the mind set. It ends with the perfect political statement. "I hope this wakes you up, because if this doesn't, then something else, far worse will happen that will...." My only regret, a woman got up beside me after the movie was over and said, "Well, now to try to get THAT out of my head." I should have stopped her and said, "No, don't force this from your head, because if you do, you'll be forced to relive it...we all will...." All that said, I'm almost positive that the movie will never be picked up and distributed. It is controversial on a whole nother realm, because it will make everyone see what they themselves turn a blind eye to.... And if there is one thing American's can't stand, is seeing the truth of what is in front of them....

I honestly have to wonder if many of the other reviewers have seen the same film as I. Unfortunately, I went into this film with very high expectations, as the premise and the content warnings seemed very much like they would deliver something compelling and extreme. The main red flag however, is that this was a low budget movie from a director who made no further films. This can sometimes mean something brilliant, but in this case, the film just barely steps above the bar of "cheap amateurish independent straight to video film".

The Writing Style/Plot Development

One important thing to note is that this film is very dialogue driven, mainly with the monologues by the characters to the camera. I know well about the writing process, and as in plays, when your story is so heavily dialogue based, you're at a great risk of making your characters seem schizophrenic, because that dialogue is ultimately based on the episodic mood swings of the writer over a long period of time, crunched down into the short period of time within the material. The foremost problem with the material delivered by these young actors is that really, it sounds like dialogue written by a balding middle aged man who THINKS he knows how teenagers talk, feel, and rationalize, which is packed with tonnes of whiny pseudo intellectual nonsense, which because they're TEENAGERS, never goes full circle and often ends in vanity, triteness, or ambiguity, so in most cases a REAL concise reason for committing suicide is never established, and how each character's "inner thoughts" contradict from scene to scene shows that the writer himself did not BELIEVE the dialogue, and thus was unable to make it coherent and credible.

Actors/Characters

My first impression was that the directing was bad, but the story and idea were good. I began to think twice about this in how the instigator of the whole premise "Scott", tells his very eclectic group of friends about his idea one by one, who ALL think it's so cool and amazing, and that they too MUST commit suicide along with him. The young actors were fairly mediocre, aside from Kris Lemche as "Patrick" who was the only one really able to create a compelling character with some sort of screen presence. I personally did not like any of the characters, especially the main protagonist "Scott" who speaks like a programmed robot, so filled with technical analytical phrases, that he only comes across as a caricature, and his friends have a bit of this too. Even though they're supposed to be non mainstream, in this film, a hodgepodge of sub cultures and social backgrounds so that ALL BASES of teen anxiety are covered, it's hard to imagine anyone being that out of touch with the world they live in, and moreover, "Scott" is able to rationally convince the school bully to return their camera, that he stole, with this very irritating way of speaking.

The Directing/Scene Layout

The directing, combined with a very stagey unravelling of events is what I found amazing that so many other reviewers were able to overlook. The classroom scenes, with the protagonist goofing off with his camera were very badly handled. That just won't happen without the smart ass students as well as the teacher getting in your face about it, and most teachers would confiscate the camera, but no one says a word. Picture having a conversation on your telephone in a classroom. How ridiculous would that be? Also, Patrick's character, spying on everyone with his camera, looking up girl's dresses, masturbating in the girl's washroom, without being seen, heard, or getting in trouble, not to mention abducting a screaming 10 year old in a crowded supermarket, hauling her into the washroom where he rapes and kills her without being seen, heard or caught, is simply just not realistic.

Suicidal Motives

The real crux of the issue however is the suicidal motives of the characters and how they were handled. of the 4 characters who state their cases for WHY they plan to kill themselves: Scott: inner freedom. Sandy: testament to true love. Trudi: domestic discord. Patrick: homicidal urges? None of these are given much background or ANY aside from Trudi's case, though still not convincingly, who ridiculously enough, in all 6 of them is the only one who is shown to have typical problems of depression, the kind you see in most real life suicide cases. The characters, Rick and Cody, who we are given no inner insight into, are wasted, and seem very full of life rather than depression, Particularly Rick, who in this film represents typical quasi hip-hop culture, who doesn't seem to fit in with this group of people at all.

Closing Notes/Film Message

I will close by touching on one of the very last phrases spoken into a camera by the character "Scott" and showing truly how badly the people involved in the making of this film do NOT understand their subject. "Do you want to know the real truth? I did it because I was bored. The number one killer of teenagers today isn't drugs or alcohol... It's just plain boredom.... AND I WAS BORED!". Not only is it hilarious, but it's just plain not true. Any deaths to teenagers caused by boredom result from "Accidental" not "suicidal" deaths such as car crashes, skateboard injuries, auto-asphyxiation or the like. The impulse of suicide tends to come from ANYTHING but boredom, and instead, derives from feeling horrible and emotionally destroyed for whatever causal reasons. True, the character can say anything, and it doesn't matter if it's true or not, but by now, he's been reduced to a talking point with a face, not a character. I watched this horrible film because I was bored, luckily, it did not make me want to kill myself.

wow i just watched this movie last night and was blown away. the premise was intriguing and when i popped the DVD into DVD player i was blown away by the story and the character. it was dark gritty and brilliant. it opened my eyes to the things around me. it tapped into the mind set of many teenagers. on some level i think all teens can relate if not with the suicide but with elements that create the characters. if its the hurt of a broken home. the enduring love for that one. this movie should be watched by all teens and parents. not only can teens relate but parents can get an insight on how hard it is to go to high school now. times have changed from when the y were in highschool. i recommend this to everyone. you are in for a real treat.

This movie had all the right ingredients for an amazing diamond in the rough. However, it falls short with it's endless lists of tired clichés that come off as another "adult's" perception of teenage-hood.

This movie isn't totally hopeless though. Douglass Smith and Kris Lemche steal the show with their opposing personalities: Cold, collected, reflective, intellectual philosopher(Smith) and rabid, hedonistic, irrational, desperate.(Lemche) Sadly, that's about where the shining ends.

The movie tries way too hard to pull off the 'The life of teenagers: XTREME, XTREME, XTREME' card. It's best moments lie in the most subtle scenes of self-contemplating, and views of the human psyche.

Long story short- could've been amazing. Didn't pull it off. A pure rent at best.