The Dangerous Lives of Altar Boys

Director Peter Care’s 2002 movie the Dangerous Lives of Altar Boys is described as an coming of age movie, which I find a little interesting.It is based on the novel by the same name by author Chris Fuhrman, who sadly died from cancer before even finishing this project.

The story focuses on Francis Doyle (Emile Hirsch) and his friends Tim Sullivan (Kieran Culkin), Wade (jake Richardson) and Joey (Tyler Long).

Francis and the others go to Catholic school where they are taught by Sister Assumpta (Jodie Foster) and Father Casey (Vincent D’Onofrio). Jena Malone plays Maggie Flynn, Francis’s girlfriend.

There are a couple of different things going on here. First and foremost we see the four boys interacting in that rather interesting way that young gentlemen do, somewhat reminiscent of Stand by Me (1986), only updated and more sordid. One of the things that feature heavily is the comic book that these four try to put together. One of the interesting features is that this comic book actually comes to life in sequences that are full on comics. The rather inept drawings made by the boys are brought to life on screen as meta text. I think this is bound to put some people off if you don’t like that sort of thing. It works, and I like it, even if it is a bit surreal. Or perhaps of that.

Secondly we have the storyline of the boys after school activities. There is a lot going on here as well. Drinking, drugs, pranks, sex and violence. To say that this is a coming of age story is a bit iffy. Not all of us had friends like Tim with an interesting way of approaching life as one big game. He goes looking for trouble rather than being bored, which means that he is the ring leader when it comes to little things – like being the editor of the comic and much bigger things – like stealing a cougar from a nearby zoo. The cougar prays on his mind a lot and becomes a motor for the action and I will not give away the ending except for saying that if you mess with cougars there is a distinct risk of getting bit.

Francis meets Maggie in school and there’s a lot more going on there than the typical awkward puppy love crush. Maggie is  a girl with some interesting secrets, to say the least. I find it absolutely fascinating that the realtionship that develops between them is marked by a complete lack of innocence. And Francis has some incredible lines when it comes to Maggie. He really knows what to say at an age where most boys tend to lose all verbal faculties in a five mile radius of any girl, specially one that they have a romantic interest in.

Aside from that we have the relationship between the boys and the head nun, Sister Assumpta, who has a wooden leg and that deep devotion that always comes across as a little dangerous and a little naive. It could have been a simple and vicious character if not for Jodie Foster’s brilliant portrayal. I am a big fan of Foster, always have been. I love her intelligence and ability to give depth even to the something like this. I am an equally big fan of Vincent D’Onofrio for pretty much the same reasons. He plays the chain smoking Father Casey with the same verve. Again this is one of those bit parts that could have just melted into the wall paper if he hadn’t been able to imbue it with what can only be described as back story. His occasional amusement and the fact that you can see him thinking about stuff gives it that extra depth needed.

I will say this though, had it not been for Emile Hirsch, Jena Malone  and surprisingly enough Kieran Culkin, this could have been a complete disaster. Hirsch is definitely someone to keep an eye on, and I find it a little amusing that I happened tos tumble on this movie after just having seen Into the Wild, where both Hirsch and Malone feature.

The movie in general does a lot of things at the same time and I suspect that this can give the viewer a feeling that it’s a little unfocused in its intent. For me this actually works. I think it is pretty typical of how a lot of stuff gets dumped in your lap in your early teens that you are not equiped to handle and there is never any linear and simple way of dealing with questions of morality, life, death, sex and all the rest of it. It’s not like you are given a weekly lesson. It tends to get dumped on your head all at once. I believe that is the intention of the novel and the movie as well. And you are not likely to get any simple answers to any of these things in this movie. Though you might be a little curious as to who the target audience is supposed to be.

It’s well worth watching and quite different from anything else in this vein. To me that makes it worth it.

MULE

Into the Wild

Sean Penn has directed this 2007 movie starring Emile Hirsch as Chris McCandless. His parents Billie and Walt are played by Marcia Gray Harden and William Hurt.

The movie is based on the novel with the same title  written by John Krakauer. On reading the novel I never really speculated on it being made into a movie and now that I have seen the result I find myself wondering why that is. It lends itself well to the different media being set in spectacular nature scenes, filmed on location in the deserts of California, South Dakota, Oregon, Arizona, Nevada and above all Alaska.

The basic premise of the story is that Chris McCandless graduates from Emory University and then decides to go into the wild. Literally. Influenced by Thoreau, no doubt, but also by other literature, music and his family situation he decides that civilised life is overrated and that there is a moral imperative in trying to decide for yourself what you find important for you in your life.

McCandless aims for Alaska. It is the most remote and wild area he can think of and he sets about this very methodically, divesting himself of his property, driving his car until it gets damaged in a flash flood, walking on foot, hiking and hitching rides he works his way across the country.

His odyssey has much to recommend it, he meets nice people along the way and seems to have the ability to woo people, making them help him even if they don’t understand what it is he wants to do. McCandless has an understandable disdain for modern life as being excessive and strange in all that it measures as important.

He is driven by a kind of fervent morality that Penn depicts in part through voice over reading of McCandless diary and through his sister Carine’s  (Jena Malone) letters and reflections. She speaks of her brother with great affection and understanding, but there is a slight recrimination there as well for his lack of concern about the people that care about him. He is on a journey of discovery and as such that is a pretty selfish exploit.

Penn has made a beautiful and thought through movie that moves towards its inevitable conclusion with ruthless determination. McCandless’ story is made all the more poignant because he walks into the wild – and does not walk out again. If you read the novel there is some uncertainty as to whether he succumbs due to lack of preparation or just from a tragic mistake. Penn seems to decide on depicting the whole thing as a tragic mistake and that colours the viewers opinion about what has happened.

Music is used sparingly and the original score is written and performed by Eddie Vedder who’s extraordinary voice suits the mode beautifully. Vedder even won a 2008 Golden Globe Award for the song “Guaranteed”.

Sean Penn is an interesting director. He seems to veer towards the philosophically complex material and manages to get solid performances from the actors. There is a level of involvement that goes beyond just showing up and hitting the marks. The Indian Runner, The Pledge and now this shows that in abundance.

As for the central theme and feel of this movie it leaves a lot to the viewer, which I think is a good thing. The casual rejection of societies nastier sides is interesting as well as the screwed up family dynamic, but it doesn’t really explain anything. And whatever insight McCandless might have made is marred by the fact that he died – so you as a viewer have to decide what that is worth. You also have to decide how much of a pilgrim he was, how much of a saint or a holy man, and how much of a fool. I won’t tell you what to think, and neihter will Mr. Penn.

And that’s the way it should be.

Mule