ok, i saw this and it was pretty good for being by an amateur, but it was obviously written by a 14 year old. i mean, parts of it, like the game show with god (if you saw it you know what i'm talking about) i was thinking, this is something a kid would come up with. it was just too amateur. although parts of it seemed not so much. i don't really get it. is it just me?
shareUm, yup, I'd have to agree--it's really just you. This film had some of the most creative and immaginative writing I have seen in years. The heaven game show sequence is easily one of the film's best scenes (not to mention you won't find anything like it in any other film on the market) where Jim Hanks really shines (and momentarily steps out of the shadow of his brother).
I couldn't help but feel you are confusing "low budget" with "amateur". There is a HUGE difference there--just about everyone who worked on this film had and unbridled passion for this film and it's material. This is one of those rare films that actually has something to say, and I must say has a message that needs to be heard. This isn't "Thirteen", ie. this film isn't Hollywood fluff, solely put out on the market to earn a quick buck or two. This is a film that first and foremost should travel the country from school to school, letting the youth of today know that they aren't alone, and that there is a hope out there.
Every ounce of the filmmaking of this piece went towards not only making Purgatory House look appealing, but also creating an "everyday", look of realism and authenticity.
This film comes from the mind of a girl who has been there, seen the bottom of the barrel, and climbed out all the while writing a script that isn't contrived or altered by bitter and biased professional screenwriters; creating a script that doesn't try to mirror reality, but instead transcends the material, crossing reality with fantasy and ultimately creating a film with the essence of why our industry was created in the first place--to entertain.
Kudos to Celeste Davis for writing such an amazing piece, and to Cindy Baer for making it all happen. If there were only more films like this out today, everyone wouldn't be constantly complaining about throwing down $10 everytime they want to see a movie. This film makes moviegoing actually worth the time and the money.
I have to agree that some of the movie was very creative. And Jim Hanks was easily my favorite actor. He truly did shine. But some of the writing in this film still seemed too amateur. I don't think I was confusing it with low budget though. Although I don't enjoy low quality filming, i can't hate on it for its low-budgetness. that's not the problem here. I agree that it was not full of fluff, but you've got to be kidding about stuff like the heaven game show. I wouldn't see that on other movies because it's something my little sister would dream up in a 5th grade story.
I'm not trying to take away Celeste's accomplishment, the film had many good parts and the message was pretty good, but it just lacked that fully put-together feel of a better movie. parts semmed unneccesary, immature or kiddish. I'm not tring to offend anyone here, it's just not one of the best films of our time.
My favorite part of the movie was the Game Show! I thought it was hysterically funny (Jim Hanks was a crack up--we were in stitches), and yet sad at the same time. That's what I call a good movie.
I mean to think that this girl imagined that she'd have to play on a gameshow before she could get into Heaven, and that God would be the host! How symoblic. What does that say about what kids are thinking and feeling today, and what the huge influence that movies/tv are having on them? (Even the whole concept of the movie..that she kills herself and is sentenced to watch TV forever!) Very telling. And it opened my eyes.
I heard the director speak at the Waterfront film festival, about how she made it a point to not alter the teen writer's words at all. That's why a few parts felt immature. It was the point of the movie. And that's what I ESPECIALLY loved! It felt honest in a way I've never experienced in a film. And I found that most of it was very well articulated. I also loved the opening monologue. Amazing. In fact, writing this is making want to see it again...
gspyder, aren't you the editor of this film? I'd have to consider you just a little biased. I enjoyed the film overall, but it's not a great feature by any stretch of the imagination.
sharePerhaps not by "Hollywood" standards.
But it sends a really strong POSITIVE message. For a teenager to do this for other teens is a grand accomplishment.
There are many "great" films. Some are "greater" than others, but few are grand.
John M....
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gspyder, aren't you the editor of this film?
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This is one of the best movies I've ever seen!
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I am USC film student and as you can imagine, a HUGE movie buff. I recently had the priviledge of seeing "Purgatory House" and was BLOWN AWAY. It was absolutely incredibe; like a great peice of art. Everything from the slow pace that reflected Silver's self imprisonment, which takes an investment at first but totally pays off by the end,--to the melecholy poem, when she actually directly addresses the camera, breaking the 3rd wall, (an amazing technique also used effectively in "Silence of the Lambs"), to the camera movements, which I found jolting at first, until I realized how the camera was mirroring the main character's evolutoin, starting out handheld and ending locked down by the end of the movie (when Silver gets her act together), --to the subtext about spirituality and society. Celeste Davis did an amazing job writing it AND acting in it. And if anyone doesn't "get it", it truly is their loss. I Can't wait for this to come out on DVD!
--Troy Z man...
It is out on DVD. At www.purgatoryhouse.com!!!
shareAmazing movie. Amazing accomplishment for such a young writer! First poster: How can you take away from that? Too amateaur? I can't imagine having written something this profound and cohesive at that age! For people to nitpick that it's not mature enough - Aren't you missing the point? I'm so grateful to have this profound insight on what's going on with kids today. Hopefully it will help me to be better prepared for when my daughter is a teen.
shareI'm 14 and I just finished writing a pretty good story:P too short to be made to a movie though, I think... neways I have never seen this movie before but i heard it was written by a 14 year old so now im anxious to see it:P See what a pro can do!!
"I got to go see about a girl" -Good Will Hunting
This was a great movie, and I think it's so awesome thta someone my age wrote it! It's very inspiring, and I also love Johnny Pacar. And Devin Witt is very cute, and I would like to see more of him too! This was a great movie, and I think every 14 or 15 or 16 year old would relate to it too. The writer did a very good job, and it takes a lot of talent to be able to write a whole movie. I don't think just anyone would be able to do that at her age!!!
shareAmen to that allybelle. I tried writing a whole movie but the farthest I got up to was 9 pages:(
"I got to go see about a girl" -Good Will Hunting
I agree. It's very hard for anyone to write an entire movie, no matter how old they are. And the fact that a girl did this when she was only 14 is impressive. But the fact that it was GOOD, that's what's incredible.
shareNo, it's not just you. As someone who just three short years ago was fourteen, I have to agree.
Imaginative? I can't help but laugh when I read all the amazing reviews, because not only was the dialogue completely cardboard, but the story is banal and horribly unresearched.
I had to laugh when Celeste's boyfriend woke up to drinking a beer and taking pills after taking a hit off a pipe. NO ONE DOES THAT. Celeste admits in the "Making Of" featurette that she was "rebelling against preppies and drug addicts" and it shows.
To top all of it off (and completely disregarding the immensely cheap effects, which detract from the movie), there doesn't seem to be any real point in the movie. It even capitalizes on the even more cheap, token use of an unexplored school shooting. The message is what, exactly? "Don't do drugs and kill yourself".
This movie makes Gummo look like a brilliant work of art, and that's saying something.
Actually, I used to be friends with a guy who was WAY into drugs, and that's what he would do each morning. Wake up, smoke a cigarette, take a shot, then do a line of coke. He was 16
And I too used to be a drug addict (not anymore) and one vacation that me and a friend took to the beach, we would wake up in the morning and each take a line of coke. We were both 15. Maybe you just haven't been around as big of druggies as I have, or maybe you've never been around an addict at all. But I do have to say it was pretty unbeleivable for this 14 year old to just have all of his drugs and alcohol just laying out, as if his mom wasn't gonna walk in and see it.
I did like the movie, and the writing was good, but the acting by Celeste was terrible. She needs a few more years of practice before I'd say she was Meryl Streep worthy.
It didnt seem ameture to me, just really creative and imaginative. Shes a very talented writer.
"Being followed by rocks now are we?"
I agree that it didn't feel amateurish. Actually, I thought the video feel was a really good choice and really added to the experience of the movie. I totally got that.
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