Paranoid Park (2007) Synopsis:
The story revolves around a teenage skateboarder who accidentantly kills a security guard. His otherwise typical life spins into a strange new reality of confusion, cover-up and guilt.
Paranoid Park (2007) Movie Review:
Gus Van Sant’s latest film, Paranoid Park, is easily his best work in recent years. Keeping with his distinctive style of experimentation and focus on using unknown actors to portray realistic moods and banter, Van Sant proves himself yet again as a talented filmmaker that can make something out of seemingly nothing. Paranoid Park is a hypnotic piece of nonlinear art that utilizes art house techniques and fresh methods of filmmaking.
The time-lapse opening is classic and pays homage to films of the past that found the beauty in correctly executed simplicity. The filmmaking itself far outweighs the performances or even the story for that matter, which is adapted from Blake Nelson’s novel. There is a mix of super 8 and 35 mm, making the skate sequences realistic and alluring. Of course, watching skateboard footage on 35 mm is absolutely beautiful. Christopher Doyle is the cinematographer and his style and expertise is highly evident throughout the film. The experimental things that Van Sant does to catch the audience off guard while pulling them deeper and deeper into his world are diverse. For instance, one of the most notable techniques is the use of exterior soundscapes when the scene is taking place indoors. It is something so simple that works. This kind of experimental freedom helps some sequences feel dreamlike and captivating, which is what is intended. The story is so chopped up and nonlinear that it feels more like the consciousness of the main character—experiencing life in a series of memories, moments, and daydreams. And then there are little things that help put things in perspective. For instance, the main character’s parents are seemingly always out of focus on the screen. This makes perfect sense because both are not as involved in his life, as they should be. In his eyes, there is not much focus on them.
As for the story, it’s not all that enchanting. Alex, played by the unknown Gabe Nevins, is a teenage skateboarder who lives in Portland, Oregon. He starts skating the infamous Paranoid Park, which is the toughest skateboard in town where a rough crowd makes its presence known. One night, Alex finds himself inadvertently involved in a murder near the skate park. I won’t spoil, it but when the murder is finally revealed, it is quite a sight that is sure to spark some kind of emotion in you. That is basically the entire plot. Alex merely wanders through his life before, during, and after the incident, trying to find a way to cope with his experience and how to understand life and himself. It’s beautiful to see the world through a teenager’s eyes but still, the film has its flaws.
With a mere runtime of 78 minutes, Paranoid Park still seems a little long. The beautiful experimental sequences are enjoyable but with all of the replays and nonlinear scatter, the film gets lost within itself. Of course, like human life, it gets lost within itself and eventually pulls itself together but it doesn’t translate to the screen as well as hoped. The cast is a large factor in this. Gus Van Sant did an open casting call via Myspace to find teenage talent but beside Taylor Momsen (Gossip Girl, Underdog, Cindy Lou Who from How the Grinch Stole Christmas), who plays Jennifer, there is no real talent. Lauren McKinney, who plays Macy, is one of the worst actresses I have ever seen on screen. She quite noticeably looks directly into the camera at times and is so unconvincing that it proves a distraction. Also, the way she plays her character is so aggravating and unnerving that you will most definitely squirm in your chair. It’s realistic; I’ll give her that. But it’s so real that it hurts—so real that it takes you out of the film. I know Gus knows what he is doing but she was a poor decision.
Paranoid Park is an enjoyable film to a certain degree. The aesthetic presentation and experimentation are stellar and a fine display of modern avant-garde filmmaking. However, though the film is able to exceed the average expectation of cinema at times, it does not do so cohesively. It’s part dream and part reality but in the end, you yearn to stay in the dream.
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Paranoid Park (2007) review written by: Bryce Carlson
7th September, 2008 
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