Review of Mean Creek

Introduction

Jacob Aaron Estes`s debut feature combines elements of `Stand by Me` with `Deliverance` in a coming of age morality drama. Sam (Rory Culkin) returns home from school with scars of a fight courtesy of George (Josh Peck), a seemingly spoiled and arrogant bully who has no qualms about resorting to physical violence or concerns for other people`s feelings. When Sam`s elder brother Rocky (Trevor Morgan) finds out about George, he and his friends plan a prank to teach the bully a lesson, inviting him on a boating trip down the river supposedly to celebrate Sam`s birthday where they will humiliate him. This begins a chain reaction that will have life-changing implications for all involved.

Video

The anamorphic 1.85:1 transfer is generally very good, but occasionally shows signs of the tiny budget.

Audio

The Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo is crisp and clear and is perfectly adequate for this dialogue-dominated film. A 5.1 mix would be ideal and is available on other releases.

Features

The almost compulsory trailer.

Conclusion

Josh Peck`s George appears to be a heartless and self-obsessed bully and is therefore almost deserves to be on the other end of a prank. When he climbs into the car with Sam, his girlfriend Millie, Sam`s brother Rocky and his two friends Clyde and Marty, he immediately hands Sam an expensive birthday present, putting Sam on the back foot. We learn, along with Sam and Millie, that George isn`t a hardened and thoughtless bully but a spoiled, lonely and sad child and Sam, prompted by Millie, asks his brother to call the whole thing off.

Made for an estimated $500,000 and with a relatively inexperienced cast and director, `Mean Creek` doesn`t appear to have much going for it on paper, yet Jacob Aaron Estes draws terrific performances from his young cast and the result is a fine and intelligent film that will live long in the memory after the credits have rolled.

My only real gripe apart from the lack of features is that even one anti-piracy warning on a legitimate DVD is bad enough, but two? These are before the menu and play when you put the disc in, so I was glad my DVD player was able to skip them and they didn`t put me off watching the film.