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| Dangerous Lives of Altar Boys, The |
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  (8/10)
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Runtime: 109 |
| Public Rating: 9.67 (3 votes) |
Director: Peter Care |
MPAA Rating:  |
| Genre: Drama |
Year: 2002 |
| Writer(s): Jeff Stockwell and Michael Petroni |
| Distributor: Columbia-Tristar |
| Reviewed by: Nate Anderson |
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The Dangerous Lives of Altar Boys is a surprisingly original and off-beat piece of work with complex characters that are never really what they seem to be. The film never really designates a character as a hero or villian, decent person or terrible, but allows them all to flow through the story in a sort of gray area.
The film centers around two friends, Francis and Tim (played by Emile Hirsch and Kieran Culkin). These two kids seem fairly normal. The like comic books and play pranks while just staying outside of getting caught. They are even desgining their own comic book, called the Atomic Trinity, which seems to emulate their own problems (and featured in animated sgements created by Todd McFarlane, with great style.)
Problems start to crop up when Francis falls for Margie Flynn (Jena Malone) who has a couple of dark secrets of her own. They slowly fall for each other, but Francis resists her attempts to bed down with him. His reasons for not wanting to have sex with her, while refreshing are never really explained.
All the while Tim and Francis try to rebel against their teacher, Sister Assumpata (Jodie Foster) and be themselves. When she finds their notebook with various grotesque drawings of herself being tortured, she is understandibly horrified.
Tim, all the while, is planning the ultimate prank for school involving the kidnapping of a cougar from a local zoo. Throughout the film, I was reminded of similar silly plots that I had dreamt up during my childhood. I kept wondering whether the kids would actually go through with this incredibly daring, and ultimately stupid plan.
The film is filled with genuine performances, especially from Emile Hirsch, Jena Malone, and Kieran Culkin. The play there roles with a sincerity and sraightness that made me believe in their charcters. Jodie Foster takes the tough task in playing Sister Assumpata and actually manages to make her a likable and sympathetic character. She is, with great frustration, trying to show these kids the difference between right and wrong.
It really is the performances that make this movie as special as it is...a truely wonderful and offbeat film, with genuine, straight-forward direction by Peter Care that moves between the live-action parts and the animation with great ease, not jolting the viewer, but feeling rather genuine. I recommend this film highly.
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