WHO MADE IT? | Director: Jacob Aaron Estes Cast: Rory Culkin, Ryan Kelley, Scott Mechlowicz, Carly Schroeder, Trevor Morgan, Josh Peck | WHAT’S IT ABOUT? | Sam (Culkin) tells his older brother Rocky (Morgan) that he’s being bullied at school by the unpopular and overweight George (Peck). Rocky and his crazy friend Marty (Mechlowicz) come up with a plan to get their revenge: they’ll pretend all is forgiven, invite George on a boating trip, and then gang up on him in the wilderness. But things get out of hand – miles from anywhere, there’s an accident – and none of the survivors have any idea how to handle the situation. | WHAT’S IT LIKE? | Estes’ debut feature shows a lot of promise – drawing on his own experiences, he’s created a believable world, in which vengeance turns sour. During the trip, George starts to show a human side, which makes it all the more uncomfortable for us to be cheering for those we’d previously thought of as the good-guys. But to add shades of grey to the black and white, George continues to display his worse qualities too, by turning on the younger children as he tries to suck up to the older ones. From the innocent regret of Culkin to the ballsy persistence of Mechlowicz, the performances fit the film perfectly. The story is ultimately slight, but builds effectively to an unexpected climax. It’s a darkly comic, coming of age drama, which will make you challenge your ideas of how to deal with bullies and might just help you defeat the ghosts of your own childhood. | Opens nationwide on 29th April 2005
