"Born and Raised," feels purely authentic in its astute interpretation of a small town dynamic. The creators truly captured the essence of this lifestyle by even including a bizarre moniker, like a main character named, "Bubbs." The movie cut to the core of some meager mentalities by including individuals' habits of smoking and drinking, sick cycles of young vacillating relationships and minimalistic social lives in empty bars.
Beyond the imagery and lifestyle of these folks, the true theme of the film is finding and creating one's own path in life. It explores how some may not find peace within their community as they desire adventures outside of the walls that have been built for them by their own family's experiences, heartbreaks, fears, and struggles. The core of this script is exploring the fine line of happiness which can be between what one has and what one desires. To find this balance while remaining true to your own set of internal motivations, sans the hopes and dreams others have for your own existence, can be an overwhelming struggle. Finding this internal strength to walk away can feel almost paralyzing.
This movie has a raw portrayal of characters that captures real issues of heartache, abandonment, physical abuse, substance abuse, and yet the characters still exhibit courage, curiosity, and resilience while attempting to enter a future of unknowns.
The production of this film is far from today's "Hollywood" standards which makes it magnificently raw and gritty. The main character literally has a major blemish on his face which is so refreshing in a day where most actors are covered in make-up or the flaws are edited out after the fact. This made the production practical, since most lower income individuals wouldn't spend mass amounts of money on proper skin-care products.
The characters are dressed like normal, earthy people. The female characters aren't glamorous, glitzy, or dressed in provocative clothing, which makes it easier to focus on the storyline instead of being sidetracked by their unmentionables.
Even the backdrop of the movie, with the scenery in muted shades of gray and the beautifully executed soundtrack, sets the tone to magically allow the audience to feel the conflicts the characters are enduring while still trying to find and implement forgiveness and acceptance for those that have destroyed their hearts. To watch the characters show mental fortitude and composure while having the hope to press forward, in times where they could be crying, was admirable and an accurate testament to the resiliency of people living in a small town.
This is a production based on the voyage of the seeking out the adventures in life, while straining to see how to move on without abandoning family and friends. It captures the genuine tug of war between responsibility and freedom. The writers deliver the sincere sense of the word, "Home," a place one can leave yet always come back to, no matter where one finds themself in life. "Born and Raised," was beyond invigorating from the script to the implementation!
