It would be virtually impossible to get through a review of Mr. Estes’ teen murder movie without mentioning George Washington and River’s Edge, but if it shares plot points with these other fine dramas, Mean Creek is still uniquely, if often grimly compelling.
In common with most tales of childhood lost, Mean Creek’s dramatic fulcrum is a bully. George (Peck) is a lonely brute with a DVC (always handy when your movie has a budget of less than half a million and your producer has just lost his home), a learning disability and a lot of issues. He’s easy to pity, but difficult to like, especially for the kids unfortunate enough to attend the same school. After receiving an apparently routine beating from George, classmate Sam (Culkin) enlists the help of his older brother (Williams) to come up with a suitably chastening prank to get back at his tormentor. From the moment it’s revealed that the brothers’ plan involves a gang of kids going up an isolated local river in a small boat, tragedy seems inescapable and much of the film is given over to the aftermath – in particular, the changing group dynamic as conscience descends.
This tense, fascinating film is greatly enhanced by its youthful ensemble cast, but runt-of-the-dynasty Culkin deserves special praise, as does twenty-one-year-old newcomer Scott Mechlowicz: his bad-boy, a whirlwind of white-trash testosterone, has something of Brad Pitt’s hitchhiker from Thelma And Louise about him.
Just get in the damn boat.

Running Time 90mins. Cert 15a. Opens April 29th