Director: Ben C. Lucas
Starring: Oliver Auckland, Adelaide Clemens, Alex Russell and TJ Power
Distributor: Other
Runtime: 97 mins. Reviewed in Nov 2011

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Rating notes: Strong themes and violence, drug use and coarse language

In the ‘always on’ but disaffected society of an elite high school, step brothers Zack and Darren occupy opposite ends of the school’s social hierarchy. At one of Zack’s parties Xandrie, the only person with whom Darren ever connected, is drugged, assaulted and left for dead. After Xandrie doesn’t show up at school Darren tries to find out what happened but no-one knows, says or does anything. No-one can or they just don’t care.

When Xandrie finally does return to school it sets off a chain reaction with fatal results as Xandrie realises that nothing will be achieved by taking revenge. Darren decides that if he doesn’t do something then no-one will. Darren’s plan plays out at another one of Zack’s parties and soon the brothers have their lives at the mercy of popular opinion.

This confronting Australian film raises some of the most serious issues facing schools, parents and teenagers: abuse of alcohol and drugs, drink-spiking, date rape, violence, sexual experimentation and systematic bullying. This is the private school from hell, where there is no visible adult authority figures, a sort of “Lord of the Flies” set in affluent urban Australia. The behaviour and its consequences are just as chilling to watch.

First time writer/director Ben Lucas has the assurance of a mature filmmaker with the style and atmosphere he brings to this film. The excellent camera work, the fast pace and the quick cuts add to the claustrophobic tension he wants to create. He succeeds.

The problem is that it gets stuck in one very downbeat key after 15 minutes and stays there for next 82 minutes. Telescoping every teen crisis into one senior high school class is heavy-handed. The generally very good performances from all the lead actors get stuck as well, so we never get to see Oliver Auckland, Adelaide Clemens and Alex Russell’s dramatic ranges. It all feels overdone.

There are lots of word plays in this film. “Youth is wasted on the young” is the most obvious, whereby adults would like the wisdom of experience and the carefree opportunities and energy of their youth. But the word wasted is important too, both in the sense of being thrown away, but also being drunk or stoned. It’s clever, but maybe it’s too clever.

I imagine the very group who will see and enjoy this film the most is one who doesn’t need to see it: late teenagers. It is their parents and teachers who need to contemplate the serious things Lucas is saying here, but they will probably not bother because of the unrelenting and unrestrained nature of the delivery.

It is a pity that the film might live up to its name.