In the summer of 2003, at an all-boys summer water polo camp, socially anxious twelve-year-old Ben (Everett Blunck) struggles to fit in amidst a ruthless social hierarchy. When he befriends Eli (Kenny Rasmussen)--a lonely, acne-ridden outcast shunned by others, mostly by Jake (Kayo Martin), for allegedly carrying a contagious "plague"--Ben becomes entangled in a cruel, escalating ritual of scapegoating and fear. As the lines between teasing and real harm blur, Ben is forced to confront his own complicity and the terrifying cost of belonging. This is a tense, dark coming-of-age story about masculinity, peer pressure, and the horrors that fester when cruelty masquerades as a game.
Others to round out the cast are Joel Edgerton as Coach Daddy Wags, Lucas Adler as Logan, Caden Burris as Matt, Elliott Heffernan as Tic Tac, Lennox Espy as Julian, Kolton Lee as Corbin and Nicolas Rasovan as Charlie.
This independent film was directed with a cutting edge delineation of how he wanted this fellow students to interact, by Charlie Polinger (shorts) and he succeeded in spades. One could feel the raw intensity, the cold stillness of the characters when the scene called. This aspect of the film kept the audience on the edge. However, when it came to the writing also by Charlie Polinger (shorts), the film had a tendency to meander and become choppy--so much so that for the first 20 minutes of the film, I was wondering where the film was. Nothing was adding up, and this only having approximately an hour and 40 minutes to its running time, usually most films this short have a tendency to cut-to-the-chase. With this premise, it was an exemplary attempt of such an important subject matter. I would truly love to see more films directed by this filmmaker since his ability to work behind the camera is amazing. The film was really about how the young boys and how they interacted. Edgerton was there as a Coach, but that was about it. He truly yawned his way through his role, but I'm sure that was a planned thing. If this film shows the audience anything, it shows us how much fear can be leveraged in manipulating others which made this film palatable if anything did.
If you're into the psychological drama using fear and manipulation to gain what the majority wants, this is the film for you. It really doesn't need to be viewed on the large screen to get the full impact of it, so maybe you could Netflix it. While the writing definitely needed polish, the direction was simply spot on. Writing wise, maybe this writer needed more work...or not.
Out of 4 Stars: 2 Rated: R 98mins.
