before i start, i'm just for warning you all that i am one of Ben lee's biggest fans, and so in a way, am pretty biased. but by the same token, this movie is amazing. it had everything that doomed it to fail - a first time director, a first time leading actor AND a low budget. but if you didn't know better, you wouldn't have even guessed that after watching it. placid lake is a gem, there's no question there. and a laugh out loud comedy too, with lines like "she must have got hit by a car...women, huh?" when his best friend didn't turn up for a golf match when he was trying to impress his boss. but it isn't the jokes that make it so good, but the thought provoking questions it raises. i won't go into it, because in the end those questions being raised and thought about are individualist.
placid lake (played by singer/songwriter Ben lee) is the only child of hippie parents, who make him wear a dress for his first day of school and who let the bullies hurt him for it. yes, they are unconventional parents, but by the end of it, you won't be sitting there thinking "they are horrible people", surprisingly enough. and you also won't be thinking placid lake is the coolest guy ever, either, because put blankly, he isn't. but you get drawn to him and his struggle for normality all the same, and want him to find it, even though it seems hopeless. and while he is struggling to fit in with life after school, you see his science-nut best friend Gemma Taylor (played by Rose Bryne) trying to cope with a life that has been planned out for her since she was tiny.
and if these things don't grab you, seeing Placid in a full body cast will.
Overall, a great movie, and well recommended for everyone (well, just so long as they are old enough to cope with the strong sexual content).
10 stars!
placid lake (played by singer/songwriter Ben lee) is the only child of hippie parents, who make him wear a dress for his first day of school and who let the bullies hurt him for it. yes, they are unconventional parents, but by the end of it, you won't be sitting there thinking "they are horrible people", surprisingly enough. and you also won't be thinking placid lake is the coolest guy ever, either, because put blankly, he isn't. but you get drawn to him and his struggle for normality all the same, and want him to find it, even though it seems hopeless. and while he is struggling to fit in with life after school, you see his science-nut best friend Gemma Taylor (played by Rose Bryne) trying to cope with a life that has been planned out for her since she was tiny.
and if these things don't grab you, seeing Placid in a full body cast will.
Overall, a great movie, and well recommended for everyone (well, just so long as they are old enough to cope with the strong sexual content).
10 stars!