This Movie is: Not Rated
Through this movie we get to experience what life is like for Trevor (Ben Foster) and other kids that are bullied at his high school. In the previous year Trevor gets pushed too far and decides to retaliate against the perpetrators (the jocks). Which leads to him threaten to blow up the football team. He even goes so far as to create a “bomb” albeit missing a key ingredient, which means it won’t blow up anything. We see the outfall from that, in the form of metal detectors, security guards and a zero tolerance policy. After which pretty much everyone in the school and town think of him as a criminal and expect the worst of him (even though he had never been in trouble before).
Only two people in his life are supportive of him. Mr. Duncan (Tom Cavanagh) his drama/video teacher and a new girl at school Jenny (Jane McGregor). Mr. Duncan has known Trevor for a while and sees that he is an exceptional student and a good kid that had something bad happen to him. He feels he is in need of some guidance, but doesn’t see him as a hopeless case. Jenny has been warned about Trevor by others, however, she sees something special about him and is willing to give him a chance.
Mr. Duncan decides to put on a play called “Bang Bang You’re Dead” and he wants Trevor to play the lead character (Josh). The play is about a high school student that snaps and ends up shooting and killing some of his classmates. I think Mr. Duncan believes that the play will make people think about the situation at school and why violent acts like that happen. Hopefully, at the same time helping Trevor work through some of the issues he is having.
There is another group at the school referred to as Trogs. They are anarchists and live on the periphery. Keeping themselves removed from others at the school, which also makes them a target of the jocks. After they have their own encounters with the jocks, a sort of war breaks out between the two groups. Each group tries to top the other with their attacks. Sean (Randy Harrison), the leader of the Trogs sees a kindred spirit in Trevor and invites him to join them.
Trevor can definitely relate to the Trogs. He is finally able to release some of his frustration in the company of kids that feel like he does. Unfortunately, things start going downhill from there. Parents and other townspeople start objecting to the play, especially since Trevor is playing the lead character. The war between the Trogs and the jocks keeps escalating. Trevor is coming under even closer scrutiny by the townspeople, the police, school faculty and his parents.
Trevor is the main focus of the film, which means that Ben Foster has a lot of screen time. He is incredible as Trevor. He is so intense but at the same time shows such vulnerability. Ben portrays emotions so convincingly.
You might recognize Randy Harrison (Sean) as Justin on “Queer as Folk“. This was a very different character for him and I thought he did a great job.
Some of my favorite quotes:
Trevor – “Welcome to the nightmare.”
Jenny – “Where do you sit if you just want to have lunch?”
Jenny – “So how did you get to be a pariah?”
Trevor – “Well, you gotta make up your mind and persevere.”
Trevor – “I don’t think you’re gonna to get in the cool cliques if you’re seen hanging out with me.”
Jenny – “Well then maybe we should make our own clique.”
Sean – “A place where we can be ourselves.”
Mr. Duncan – “It’s not what’s in a kid’s backpack that makes him dangerous. It’s what’s in his heart.”
Mr. Duncan – “I think when you label a kid at risk, you just created a kid at risk.”
Trevor – “I wish I could be the person she thinks I am.”
Trevor – “Kids can be the most ruthless people in the world. They can just be supernaturally cruel.”
They made some great song choices in the movie, including Anti-Flag “Angry, Young and Poor”, Creed “My Own Prison” and Oleander “Runaway Train” (which plays at the end of the movie and during the credits). They matched the emotion of the scenes so well.
“Bang Bang You’re Dead” is an actual play. On 4/7/99, students of Thurston High School (Eugene, OR) performed this play for the first time. Actual footage of the production is shown during the credits. It has since been performed thousands of times at various schools, community centers and churches.
I think that this is a very important movie. It brings up a lot of issues at schools that need to be addressed. Although it doesn’t spell out answers and with such a complex issue how could it. It can get people thinking about the issue and maybe get a dialogue started. Too many times I think the symptoms are treated instead of the cause. For example, metal detectors and security guards instead of addressing the bullying issue (which was the root cause of the action).
This issue is of special significance to me since I went to a high school where bullying and physical violence was a real problem. The school I attended was in Hawaii and I was part of a minority group (because I was caucasian). This in and of itself was enough to get you picked on. You even had to make sure you didn’t go into the wrong bathroom or you could get beat up. I knew many people that ended up dropping out of school because they couldn’t deal with it anymore. It is just unacceptable that stuff like this still goes on.
Jan
Following is additional information about the show that contains spoilers. If you don’t want to be spoiled don’t read any further.
I felt bad for Mr. Duncan when he had to decide whether to turn Trevor’s film into the principal. In his heart he knows that Trevor is a good kid and he doesn’t believe Trevor would do anything like what is in the film. However, if he doesn’t report it and something did happen he could never forgive himself.
The meeting at the school when they show the various videos that Trevor had shot of the bullying that happened at school was such a pivotal moment. It’s when people in charge at the school finally notice what has been going on. They finally realize what Trevor and the other kids have been subjected to.
Wow, the end of the movie when we are watching part of the play being performed is amazing. Seeing the townspeople’s reaction including the jocks, Trevor’s parents, the police and school faculty was moving. Through the play Trevor has finally had the opportunity to help people understand what drove him to do what he did. Ben’s performance is phenomenal and always brings tears to my eyes.
