Le prix de la différence

Four days after the 1999 Columbine High School massacre in Colorado, an Oklahoma town takes over-protective measures to improve security. Young students are scanned and searched during admission. The school distributes booklets announcing zero tolerance for bullying and threatening behavior. This happens to coincide with a high school spat between freckle-faced Alia Shawkat (as Brandi Blackburn) and popular blonde Laura Wiggins (as Kimberly). After a creative writing journal is found to contain references to a gun, young Shawkat is confirmed as a threat, and suspended from school...

Returning for her next semester, Shawkat is further ostracized. Best girlfriend Simone Carter (as Casey) and potential boyfriend Josh Blaylock (as Noah Taylor) become distant. She is overheard discussing witches with cute Lucas Till (as Kyle Kenney), then rumored to have caused Kevin Bacon-like art teacher J.D. Evermore (as Mr. Gray) to become deathly ill...

This Lifetime movie is "based on a true story," which is believable but not convincing. No argument with the facts, but we need more details about how a 15-year-old girl could be suspended from a public school for 19 days for writing in her journal and wearing eye make-up. We are given this takes place after the Columbine shooting, but it never seems like this girl is much of a threat. A connection to Native Americans and Wicca is unclear. Fortunately, the cast does well with the material; especially nice is an estranged father/daughter sub-plot enacted by Shawkat and Eric Schweig (as Tim Blackbear).

****** Not Like Everyone Else (2006) Tom McLoughlin ~ Alia Shawkat, Eric Schweig, Illeana Douglas, Lucas Till

This was an amazing and inspiring movie on differences, not only among teenage students but also among America's religious and social community. You'll find profound messages within the realistic storyline. Each twist and turn leads you in another direction, and you'll want to defend Brandi (played by Alia Shawkat), the main character wrongly accused of witchcraft, every step of the way. If you've ever been put down because of your individuality, or even put someone else down for standing out of the crowd, then this is a movie you'd benefit from seeing. The actors and actresses are very good and made believable characters. It's high-interest and detailed, and is especially right for you if you are a teenager who has wanted your opinion to be heard. It is by far one of the best Lifetime movies ever made.

I love movies that are based on real stories. This one was done exceptionally well. One of my favorites that I have ever seen and I've seen hundreds. The story was told so well but the young lady and all her troubles even when she did nothing wrong.

Familiar to anyone who remembers the hysteria in the 80s over "Satanic Panic." The idiots who thought Kiss or ACDC or Ozzy Osbourne were "satanic." The ones hysterical in the 90s about Dungeons and Dragons or the 2000s about Harry Potter. You even see examples of that hysteria in one of the reviews.

It's not Citizen Kane, but the story is told well, straight forward and compelling.

I saw this movie a few hours ago, my mom watches Lifetime very frequently and when I heard about this movie I was immediately drawn in. I myself have been labeled a Goth at my school and I know the harassment that Brandi faced in school. This movie left me in pure awe and not only angered me, but brought tears to my eyes. Although I haven't faced such horrible abuse at my school, I found myself able to relate to everything that this poor girl was going through. The movie literally had me glued to my seat, I couldn't get up if my life depended on it. it absolutely horrified me that this was based on a true story, but it didn't surprise me at all. I have friends who lived near Columbine at the time that it happened, and though I was only nine when the incident occurred, I'm aware of the troubles it caused in schools all over the country for people who dared to be different. In the end, I was thrilled that Brandi didn't change and she stayed true to herself, this kind of ordeal would cause many people to at least pretend that they try to conform to everything that happens. All in all, it was an incredible film and I definitely recommend it to anyone who asks about it.