- Actors: Danny Flaherty, Charlie Plummer, Christian Madsen
- Director: Felix Thompson
- Format: Color, Dolby, NTSC, THX, Widescreen
- Language: English
- Subtitles: English
- Region: Region 1
- Number of discs: 1
- Rated: Unrated
- Studio: Well Go USA
- DVD Release Date: September 13, 2016
- Run Time: 81 minutes
King Jack doesn’t offer much new to the
coming-of-age narrative; despite the modern addition of sexting, the behavior
of teens hasn’t changed much over the years. What the debut feature film from
writer/director Felix Thompson does have to offer is authenticity. Even if the
story resembles countless others, the ability to create sympathy for these
specific characters shows strengths in filmmaking which is never forceful or
contrived. In the end, believing these characters could exist is more important
than having an original story.
The
slice-of-life narrative follows 15-year-old Jack (Charlie Plummer) through a
difficult day in the beginning of summer. Life is already rough for Jack,
nicknamed Scab by a group of older bullies at school and dismissed by the girl
he has a crush on. During the last day of class before summer break, Jack
discovers that he must attend summer school, and has a sensitive picture sent
to his love interest shared amongst all the girls in his class. The bad new
continues when the mental health issues of his aunt results in a sudden
unwelcome visit from his younger cousin, Ben (Cory Nichols).
Full of the
bravado of young men, Jack’s ego is constantly in danger of being wounded.
After he and Ben have an encounter with a group of school bullies (led by Danny
Flaherty), Jack’s resistance lands a significant blow. This small victory is
followed by their relentless pursuit and the threat of revenge to come. The
tension of the narrative works because of how convincingly these actors embody
their roles. Rather than the typical 20-year-old actor playing a teen, these
actually resemble kids in high school.
The DVD has no
special features.
Entertainment Value:
7.5/10
Quality of
Filmmaking: 8/10
Historical
Significance: 6.5/10
Special Features: 0/10
No comments:
Post a Comment