George Washington

"George Washington"
Starring: Donald Holden, Curtis Cotton III, Paul Schneider, Candace Evanofski
Grade: B+

David Gordon Green's debut film evokes much of the same stylistic choices as legendary auteur Terence Malick. While Green is certainly influenced by Malick, Green brings his own aesthetic choices to the table. The film centers around young adolescents in a run down Southern town. It's Summer, and a young boy named Buddy has just had his heart broken by Nasia, who's a year younger than Buddy, but is looking for a more mature man. Nasia narrates the film, admiring her friends and the way they live, express, and remain mysterious. This particular Summer will change all of them.

George is the hero of the film, he has a disorder in which his head is very delicate, much like a baby's. He can't go into water, but saves a young kid one day from drowning. While this occurs about halfway through the film, it could have taken place at any other moment and felt just as true. The narrative weaves in and out of the daily occurrences of these kids. Most of the time they're doing nothing, but that's sort of the point. Green looks to capture the everyday nothingness of this Summer, but as these characters grow they'll realize how memorable this Summer was.

One day, something happens, it doesn't take place as a plot twist, but as something natural and inevitable. The film goes on in the same manner, but the loss of innocence and the realization of guilt rings true with the viewer. These types of films are my favorite, there is no trace of plot, but many ideas and plentiful scenes. Green has such a keen eye for the beauty among the broken. The film is littered with gorgeous, elegiac images that speak the most to the influence of Malick. What also stands out is the how Green's narrative switches gears on a dime, dropping in on minor characters to the most important at any time.

This film reminds me of a more recent film I watched called "Ballast." Both films were debut's for there directors that convey poor youths experiencing life's mysterious and hardships through run down social climates. I don't know what attracts me to these type of films, but both were excellent in there attempts to make it's viewer feel as if they lived among these kids, and felt what they felt.