Rama’s SCREEN

Every year there’s always one independent movie that premieres at Sundance Film Festival that goes on to be the year’s most groundbreaking film worthy to compete with other Oscar worthy contenders and for this year, THE WACKNESS is definitely it. Written and directed by Jonathan Levine, THE WACKNESS is… one of the best, most creative movies of the year. It’s nostalgic and edgy at the same time. There should definitely be more movies like this.

It’s the summer of 1994, and the streets of New York are pulsing with hip-hop and wafting with the sweet aroma of marijuana but change is in the air. The newly inaugurated mayor, Rudy Giuliani, is beginning to implement his anti-fun intiatives against “crimes” like noisy portable radios, grafffiti and public drunkenness. Set against this back, Luke Shapiro (Josh Peck) spends his last summer before college selling dope throughout New York City, trading it with his shrink (Ben Kingsley) for therapy, while crushing on his step-daughter (Olivia Thrilby).

I love the 1994 setting, it looks like writer/director Jonathan Levine took us on a time travel back to the year that in his opinion was the best one ever.
The music, the slank, the clothing, the lifestyle, the media and the pop culture.
Not only that, the story is relevant to most young people who are growing up, feeling uncertain about the future, and they blame it on themselves and everybody around them, they’re angry at their parents and the world.

The very crucial part of the storyline is the relationship between the therapist, Dr. Squires and the character Luke.
Both of them think that they have F*d up lives and they don’t deserve to hate life so much.
I think each of them finds out that by helping the other person, he can help himself as well.
By helping Luke, Dr. Squires realizes that he’s not a total failure despite losing the respect of his wife and his step-daughter. By helping Dr. Squires, Josh realizes that he’s found not only a friend but a summer to remember, all the ups and the heartbroken times.

I like how the music sorta speaks out and helps the story in a way that back then the Hip-hop was much more profound, if you will. It helps tell the story in each scene just as much as the scene tells the story itself.
Writer/director Levine keeps showing us of how life in 1994 significantly affects the characters and influence the way they make judgment or decision.

The actors are perfect for their roles, it’s as if the story was written with all of them in mind.
Josh Peck who plays Luke Shapiro is a revelation. A brilliant, talented young actor with a promising future ahead of him. It’s as if all the years of his life have been leading him up to this one movie. Olivia Thirlby, Famke Jannsen, and even Method Man are all excellent supporting actors. I like how Olivia Thirlby’s character decides to smile at the end knowing that even though Luke feels heartbroken, she knows that he’s gonna be all right.

And Sir Ben Kingsley is just an ultimate master in the art of acting. It never ceases to impress me how he would manage to improvise, not so much his lines, but the mannerism of his character, he would add in certain moves or interesting gestures or the facial expression or the body language that actually speak louder than the words he says. What a great actor!

I think writer/director Jonathan Levine should be nominated for this ‘urban’ masterpiece. His approach and the freedom he gives his actors to embody the rich characters he’s created is a sign of a full understanding between him and the people involved in this project.
He makes a good point when stating that in order to be mature and responsible, in order to move on to the next chapter and take on the next obstacle, sometimes it’s okay to make mistakes and learn from them.
Beware of those who think they’re perfect in every way.

* Place the cursor on the image below to check my grade for this film