:: MovieRank.com ::: Over the Edge (1979) Jonathan Kaplan

Tuesday, September 7, 2010

Over the Edge (1979) Jonathan Kaplan

Over the Edge (1979)

Genre: Drama
Director: Jonathan Kaplan
Country: USA
Language: English
Subtitles: English, French, Spanish (idx/sub files)
Aspect Ratio: Widescreen 1.85:1
Length: 95mn
File: Dvdrip Xvid Avi - 640x352 - 23fps - 697mb

Description
New Grenada is a planned community set in the desert where there is nothing for the kids to do, save for a rec center - which closes at 6 PM. The parents, in their zeal to attract industry to their town, have all but neglected their children. As a result, the kids begin to create their own entertainment, which involves vandalism, theft, and general hooliganism. During an incident when one of the kids brandishes an unloaded gun at town cop Ed Doberman, he is shot and killed. When the parents gather the next night to discuss the killing and the level of lawlessness among the youth, they soon find out that their kids have had all they can take.

"Over the Edge" is an overlooked gem in the whole teen movie genre. One thing that sets the movie apart from other teen films is that it portrays a more realistic look at teen life than the glamorized portrayal in so many other teen films. The movie presents an environment where the (fairly sizable) teen population is neglected and having no shopping malls, bowling alleys or other places where they could be given places to go and things to do. The end result is a group of bored, neglected teens who turn to drugs and crime. The clueless adults try to remedy the situation by closing the rec center (the only place that gives them anywhere to go and anything harmless to do) and sets up a curfew, which only increases the tension and makes the problems worse. It's little surprised that things end up the way the do at the end.

The film benefits from fine acting (especially from the young actors, which includes a 15-year-old Matt Dillon) and a great soundtrack, which complements the film really well. This is a teen movie that dares to take on tougher issues than most teen films (as opposed to most teen movies where the heaviest issue tackled is who's taking who to the prom) and does so without comming off as preachy or hokey. It's easy to see why this movie was a favorite of Kurt Cobain.

IMDB

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0079688/