Afterschool (2008/IFC/MPI DVD)
Picture:
C Sound: C+ Extras: C Film: C
Trying to
emulate other filmmakers is a tricky business, especially when you try to
juggle Gus Van Sant, Stanley Kubrick and Larry Clark, but Anthony Campos tries
to do just that in Afterschool
(2008), a mixed tale of a computer addict (Ezra Miller of the cable hit Californication) named Robert who is
spying on everyone and is isolated and unhappy.
He is also a bit perverse and when he captures two girls having a drug
overdose, his isolated world is suddenly
From
dealing with a mother who is better at wanting him to take medication for being
depressed than actually being available to him and his interest in a beautiful
young classmate (Addison Timlin), he suddenly has a life that is swimming, but
when he is asked to do the tribute video for the dead girls, that may just put
him over the edge.
Unfortunately,
all that is not enough to put this film past being predictable and never
working out into its own unique piece. I
liked the approach and ambition of the project, but it does not add up into a
work that really says anything and is just imitation that sometimes does not
know what it wants to be or what it is saying.
Note that when the case says “not rated” that this is hard-R territory
and not for children.
The
anamorphically enhanced 2.35 X 1 image was shot on 35mm film in the anamorphic
J-D-C Scope format, which is likely one of the biggest reasons it got the
acclaim it did, lensed by Director of Photography Jody Lee Lipes. However, the transfer here is soft (likely
from the digital internegative, then downtrade of the image) and the addition
of low definition and degraded video images throughout further undermine the
playback. Color also suffers, while Dolby
Digital 5.1 mix is dialogue-based with the occasional surround engagement. More than a few moments are silent.
Extras
include the original trailers and posters for the film, The Last 25 short film by
Campos, unused
video from the film, Storyboards, outtakes, Deleted & Alternate Scenes and
an interview with star Miller.
- Nicholas Sheffo
