“Mid90s”

The film features a couple of professional actors, Katherine Waterston (daughter of Sam Waterston) and Lucas Hedges who at 22 has a solid resume with an Oscar nomination for his performance in “Manchester by the Sea” as well as his work in “Lady Bird” and “Moonrise Kingdom”.

Waterston plays single mom Dabney to two sons, Ian (Hedges) and his much younger brother Stevie, played brilliantly by newcomer Sunny Suljic.

While Dabney establishes curfews and some modest discipline in the household the boys seem to pretty much come and go as they please and their relationship is far from warm.

Stevie is infatuated with the older boys who skateboard behind a skate shop in Motor City in LA.  He hangs around in the background and is eventually accepted into the five guy group of poverty line kids.

I got a sense watching the film that I was watching candid camera filming of these young boys lives.  I get to see how they act when they think no one is watching and hear their street lingo and offbeat conversations.  Some have nicknames, others not.  Several are accomplished skateboarders, others practically beginners.

All five are essentially new to the camera, but several not at all new to skateboarding.  Jonah Hill did a masterful job casting these boys.  The chemistry between them is real and often emotional.  They seem to have no one but each other and they are happy with that.  Na-Kel Smith plays Ray, an African American accomplished skateboarder and the quiet leader of the group.  If he decides to further pursue acting I see a bright future.  Olan Prenatt plays the wild and crazy boarder of the group.  His nickname is unique but I can’t print it here!  With his long curly hair and solid skateboarder chops he creates a fair amount of chaos for his posse.

This is not your usual coming of age film but it captivated me and held me in right to the unique and satisfying finish.  For a debut directorial effort by Hill, I give him an “A”.