It’s always interesting to see a coming of age from a different time period. There are plenty of things that are all similar, no matter what the time period, but a good period piece can be a window into the past that helps to explain the present. Films that can take an honest look back, as opposed to the ones we have through rose-colored glasses, have that much more power.
Skateland is one of those types of films.
A film festival favorite that never found an audience, getting a small independent release into theatres but never catching fire, the film follows Ritchie Wheeler (Shiloh Fernandez) and his budding romance with Michelle (Ashley Greene) who’s about to experience some major changes in his life.
The place he’s worked at for years is about to shut down and he’s still trying to find his way into the world after high school. Michelle is about to go from being his best friend to something more, but wants more for her life than what they currently have. His parents are about to get divorced. Trapped between his desire to go to college to become a writer and staying where he is and continuing to work for a living, his life is about to change whether he likes it or not.
There’s something refreshingly authentic about the film in that it combined a good coming of age story in a well done period piece. Skateland isn’t a film that needs to showcase that it’s a period piece by always using nostalgia as a reference point for nostalgic purposes. This is a film that is just set there, not relying on the novelty of small town Texas in the late ’70s/early ’80 as a plot device. It’s refreshing because the film doesn’t need it; this is a strong story with good characters that work because Shiloh Fernandez and Ashley Greene show they have strong chops and good chemistry.
This is a film that needs the two to have strong chemistry on screen and they do, which makes it work that much more effectively. This isn’t brilliance from either, as this is a slight step ahead of good indie acting but not that much further beyond it, but it is refreshing to see the two in something that isn’t aimed at teens and actually have to act for a change. You can almost forgive Greene for being in the Twilight films because she actually has some talent that is being put to use outside it.
The fact that Skateland couldn’t find an audience isn’t all that shocking. Set in the past, but without the nostalgia trip to make people want to relive their youth, this is a film that wants to tell a story and not just surround people with reminders of their youth.
Presented in a widescreen format with a Dolby Digital format, this is a really strong transfer. As a period piece there are a lot of vibrant colors and sounds that come through cleanly and clearly.
There’s a handful of Deleted Scenes included that don’t add much back into the film and were deleted for a reason.
Skateland may not have found an audience in theatres but on DVD it’s perhaps in the best possible position to do so.
20th Century Fox presents Skateland . Directed by Anthony Burns. Starring Shiloh Fernandez, Ashley Greene, Brett Cullen, James LeGros, Taylor Handley, Haley Ramm, A. J. Buckley, Melinda McGraw, D. W. Moffett, Heath Freeman, Ellen Hollman, David Sullivan. Written by Anthony Burns, Brandon Freeman, Heath Freeman, Justin Gilley, Nicholas Jayanty, Victor Moyers. Running time: 98 minutes. Rated PG-13. Released on DVD August 30, 2011. Available at Amazon.com.
