In a tragicomically widening circle, several disaffected teens in suburban south Florida become enmeshed in a volatile struggle that had initially concerned only two of them—a boy and his bully. This story, based on a real event, has the persuasiveness of a flashback docudrama—the progression toward the climax feels powerfully inevitable, even if you don’t know what’s going to happen. The tone—a combination of earnestness and gallows humor—is strangely appropriate, and it suits director Larry Clark far better than his archness in Kids or his sarcasm in Another Day in Paradise. Written by Zachary Long and Roger Pullis, based on a book by Jim Schutze; with Brad Renfro, Rachel Miner, Nick Stahl, and Bijou Phillips. 112 min.
