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Paranoid Park feels like a turn for the director and he’ll possibly be moving into a new phase of work in the future.

Gus Van Sant is one of the few filmmakers that is able to walk the line between the mainstream and the truly independent.  In the 90’s he established himself as a mainstream director with indie flair, this decade he has abandoned mainstream glory and chosen to go the road less traveled.  The results have been mixed at best.  Van Sant is a director you can easily compare to other directors.  He stands on his own for better or worse.  Paranoid Park is one of the best films of this decade. Van Sant captures the fractured psyche of teenagers to wonderful results in his latest film.

The basic story is very simple.  Alex (Gabe Nevins) lives in suburban middle class life wanting to be one of the down trodden kids that lives in the skate park Paranoid Park. When he takes the plunge and moves from his safe world to the aggressive world of Paranoid Park, things will never be the same.  Something happens one night and someone turns up dead.  The police are looking for the killer and they’re suspicious of local skater kids.  Van Sant plays with time lines and narrative structure to slowly reveal everything in the story.

Based on a novel by Blake Nelson, Van Sant keeps the story intact but rearranges the events of the book. Alex documents everything in the film by keeping a diary of the events in the film.  Events evolve as Alex feels the need to revisit them.  The basic story plays out in quick succession, but as the film continues, Alex revisits the events of that tragic night and more of the story is revealed about the murder and Alex’s life and a mixed up teenager.

Van Sant continues his exploration into the psyche of adolescent youth with Paranoid Park and of his series (Elephant, Last Days), this is easily the most accessible.  His characters aren’t good or bad but just teenagers with all their faults.  They are young and wanting to explore the world.  Van Sant unspools the film through Alex and he is a flawed narrator a best. 

By using different film speeds, jump cuts and the circular story structure, Van Sant reinforces the realism of the movie.  This is the culmination of his past decade of work.  Paranoid Park feels like a turn for the director and he’ll possibly be moving into a new phase of work in the future.  The film will be remember as one of his best and shows that Van Sant is a director that is still traveling the road less traveled.

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