Palo Alto is one of my all-time favorite movies. It touches my heart unlike most dramas, and is more realistic than any other high school movie. It touches on important subject, and brings to life an atmosphere of what real high school is. It is powerful, and incredibly emotional at times. It doesn't try to be something it's not, doesn't try to make high school look better than it is. It's the most honest movie I have truly ever watched, and I go back to it again and again. Gia Coppola did an excellent job telling the original story of what James Franco had written. I thought I would go ahead and list some criteria (from least important, to most important: Filmography, and setting: The setting takes place exactly where the title says it does, Palo Alto, California. Most of the time the lighting in the film is somewhat dreary and gloomy. I would definitely categorize this as an "art film" because it's the actiong that brings this to life, the setting is merely a backdrop. Much of the filming has wide shots, and shots from down below, showing lots of shadows and emotion on the characters faces. Acting: I would give the acting an A, Emma Roberts being the one who did the best job portraying her character, although Jack Kilmer comes a close second. He really makes us believe he's s teenage guy in a small town, messing around to have some fun. Everybody in the film is extremely believable, they reminded me of people I know. Even myself-- I can relate to all of it. The small town boredom, and partying every weekend to try to bring some life back into our eyes. Theme: This is my most important criteria. We all know that the main plot of the story is what ties it all together. But with Palo Alto, the only major plot is teenagers dealing with everyday struggles, and how to maneuver around new relationships. Dealing with things like hook-ups, drinking, community service, friendship, and sports.It is so incredibly well done and believable. I have gone through high school myself, and first watched this back when I was actually in high school. It was a breath of fresh air from all of the other high school dramas portraying high school to be something it's not. I would highly recommend any high school-er watching this, or anyone really. We sympathize with the characters, and cry and laugh at the same time. It's a great film.
On the other hand, I could see why people wouldn't like this movie. It doesn't sugar coat anything. It shows underage kids having sex, using vulgar language, and doing things such as drinking and smoking weed. It's not for everyone. I assume that older generations wouldn't approve... if only they knew that this is exactly what their kids are actually doing. It can be a hard movie to watch at times, one scene being especially fragile where a young girl is taken advantage of time and time again, and we can only watch as she makes one mistake after another. But that's truly what high school is about, learning and growing.
Some of my favorite quotes from the movie: "You don't care about anything.""I wish I didn't care about anything."
"there are girls looking for love, boys looking for trouble, and men looking for both."
"I'm shivering because you're beautiful."
On the other hand, I could see why people wouldn't like this movie. It doesn't sugar coat anything. It shows underage kids having sex, using vulgar language, and doing things such as drinking and smoking weed. It's not for everyone. I assume that older generations wouldn't approve... if only they knew that this is exactly what their kids are actually doing. It can be a hard movie to watch at times, one scene being especially fragile where a young girl is taken advantage of time and time again, and we can only watch as she makes one mistake after another. But that's truly what high school is about, learning and growing.
Some of my favorite quotes from the movie: "You don't care about anything.""I wish I didn't care about anything."
"there are girls looking for love, boys looking for trouble, and men looking for both."
"I'm shivering because you're beautiful."