Mid90s - Movie Review
Mid90s
Plot: Follow Stevie, a thirteen-year-old in 1990s-era Los Angeles who spends his summer navigating between his troubled home life and a group of new friends that he meets at a Motor Avenue skate shop.
Cast: Sunny Suljic, Lucas Hedges, Na-Kel Smith, Olan Prenatt, Gio Galicia, Ryder McLaughlin, Alexa Demie, Katherine Waterston
Director: Jonah Hill
Certificate: 15 (strong language, drug misuse, self-harm, violence)
Runtime: 85 minutes
Release Date: Friday 12th April 2019
The opening scene of Mid90s features Sunny Suljic's Stevie running brutally headfirst into a corridor wall with his elder brother (Hedges) close behind him landing horrifying punches into the poor thirteen year old. As alarming as that opening scene may be, it rather nicely sets the tone for the ensuing hour and a half. Mid90s includes a lot of upbeat, entertaining moments of friendship and the enjoyment of life but it also showcases some terrifying examples of pain, confusion and the worries of adolescence.
Jonah Hill, a Hollywood star mostly known for his outrageous comedies and his recent dip into dramatic roles, makes his directorial debut in this incredibly personal and deliberately raw tale of a young thirteen year-old boy doing his best to try and fit in and find friends. Stevie (Suljic) eventually discovers a group of older kids who spend their time skating, drinking, smoking and being a bit of an annoyance. Shot on 16mm film and filmed in a 4:3 format, it's shockingly obvious that Hill has an admiration for the unfiltered, fly-on-the-wall approach that whilst it does become quite obvious that this is his first film, the rough around the edges aesthetic somehow make it even more earnest. Hill's first major success was the casting of Sunny Suljic as Stevie. When we meet Stevie, he's a curious, investigative teenager who is fascinated with his brother's CD collection as well as his workout routine. He's lifting weights and immediately thinking himself as a young Arnold Schwarzenegger in the making. The naivety of Stevie is his most likable personality trait so much so that when he begins to make questionable moral decisions and his relationship with his mother (Waterston) is strained, his optimistic and exploratory outlook helps the audience to continue to root for him. As for Suljic himself, he carries this movie effortlessly. His ability to maintain a childlike sense of fun and juggle that alongside very dark and traumatising subject matter is a true testament to this young actor's ability. The chemistry he shares with his friends, some of which aren't the greatest actors in the world but nevertheless fulfill what's asked of them, is captivating and the scenes in which the group are skating, relaxing and discussing the most random aspects of life, are easily the most entertaining.
Plot: Follow Stevie, a thirteen-year-old in 1990s-era Los Angeles who spends his summer navigating between his troubled home life and a group of new friends that he meets at a Motor Avenue skate shop.
Cast: Sunny Suljic, Lucas Hedges, Na-Kel Smith, Olan Prenatt, Gio Galicia, Ryder McLaughlin, Alexa Demie, Katherine Waterston
Director: Jonah Hill
Certificate: 15 (strong language, drug misuse, self-harm, violence)
Runtime: 85 minutes
Release Date: Friday 12th April 2019
The opening scene of Mid90s features Sunny Suljic's Stevie running brutally headfirst into a corridor wall with his elder brother (Hedges) close behind him landing horrifying punches into the poor thirteen year old. As alarming as that opening scene may be, it rather nicely sets the tone for the ensuing hour and a half. Mid90s includes a lot of upbeat, entertaining moments of friendship and the enjoyment of life but it also showcases some terrifying examples of pain, confusion and the worries of adolescence.
Jonah Hill, a Hollywood star mostly known for his outrageous comedies and his recent dip into dramatic roles, makes his directorial debut in this incredibly personal and deliberately raw tale of a young thirteen year-old boy doing his best to try and fit in and find friends. Stevie (Suljic) eventually discovers a group of older kids who spend their time skating, drinking, smoking and being a bit of an annoyance. Shot on 16mm film and filmed in a 4:3 format, it's shockingly obvious that Hill has an admiration for the unfiltered, fly-on-the-wall approach that whilst it does become quite obvious that this is his first film, the rough around the edges aesthetic somehow make it even more earnest. Hill's first major success was the casting of Sunny Suljic as Stevie. When we meet Stevie, he's a curious, investigative teenager who is fascinated with his brother's CD collection as well as his workout routine. He's lifting weights and immediately thinking himself as a young Arnold Schwarzenegger in the making. The naivety of Stevie is his most likable personality trait so much so that when he begins to make questionable moral decisions and his relationship with his mother (Waterston) is strained, his optimistic and exploratory outlook helps the audience to continue to root for him. As for Suljic himself, he carries this movie effortlessly. His ability to maintain a childlike sense of fun and juggle that alongside very dark and traumatising subject matter is a true testament to this young actor's ability. The chemistry he shares with his friends, some of which aren't the greatest actors in the world but nevertheless fulfill what's asked of them, is captivating and the scenes in which the group are skating, relaxing and discussing the most random aspects of life, are easily the most entertaining.
FACT: After a test screening, the projectionist said to the filmmakers that it was so cool that they found a movie from the '90s that they were releasing.
Mid90s (as unsurprising as this sounds) also feels like a touching homage to the 90s as a whole. Hill has a clear affinity for the skateboard youth culture and classic hip-hop as he sprinkles in instantly recognisable tunes thus creating a fantastic soundtrack that drives the film further into a very clear passion project for Hill. There is no mistaking the setting here. It is unabashedly reminiscing in 90s nostalgia. Unfortunately, as phenomenal as the highs of Mid90s are, there are a number of lows. Firstly, despite being less than ninety minutes, the first act of Mid90s is a drag. Rather than set up the family dynamic and provide us with a concrete introduction to Stevie and his dysfunctional relatives, Hill drops us in the middle and leaves us to piece together the connections. Whilst this is often a common tactic that many experienced writers and directors implement, Hill doesn't quite have the finesse to pull this technique off as seamlessly as it needs to be. Sadly, this does eventually impact the later scenes when Stevie clashes even more with his mother and brother. Every character in this film, is at one point, wholly unlikeable and seemingly irredeemable but Mid90s manages to make even the most villainous of characters (see Lucas Hedges' abusive brother) human. Perhaps if Hill may have given us a little more time to experience this family dynamic, then the emotional impact could have been far stronger. The opening third of Mid90s also suffers with the fact that it seems like Hill became a little distracted by wanting to make Mid90s overtly artistic and that made some scenes incredibly off-putting. Uncomfortable close-ups that needlessly linger and an unhealthy reliance of montages, Mid90s does not get off to a strong start. Thankfully, as soon as Stevie befriends his skater pals, the film sheds its proverbial amateur skin and soars as a fantastic coming of age tale that is as immensely likeable as it is heartbreaking.
Mid90s has quite a rocky start but once the opening third fades into the distance, it becomes a wonderful and beautifully authentic look into the 90s youth. Jonah Hill certainly proves himself to be a talented director, Suljic is a star in the making and the soundtrack will get you reliving your fond memories of the 1990s.
Luke's Verdict: 7.5/10
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