A candy coated violent sexual fantasy is the most impressive and haunting movie of the year so far.
Harmony Korine's “Spring Breakers” throws us through a loop with former Disney stars on the front lines, this time on the opposite end of the spectrum, breaking out of their child friendly cages.
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[movies name="Spring Breakers" website="www.springbreakersmovie.com" opens="March 22, 2013" score="4.0" trailer="www.youtube.com/watch?v=rVvn9T6bqls" rating="18a" advisories="COARSE LANGUAGE;SEXUAL CONTENT;SUBSTANCE ABUSE" genre="Comedy/Drama" runningtime="92"]
The story revolves around four college girls, Faith (Selena Gomez), Candy (Vanessa Hudgens), Britt (Ashley Benson) and Cotty (Rachel Korine), who are tired of their repetitive boring lives in Kentucky and hungry for adventure. With spring break around the corner, the girls take this as an opportunity to break out of their shells, doing whatever it takes to experience the greatest week of their lives. Desperate for money, the girls rob a local chicken shack, intimidating the customers and employees with hammers and water pistols.
Bang! The girls land in St. Petersburg Florida and we are presented with a montage of them drinking, popping, smoking, snorting, laughing and sometimes crying, in order to create the most memorable spring break experience of their lives. Suddenly the girls are cuffed, arrested and placed in front of a judge, still in their neon vibrant coloured bikinis. After being sentenced to time behind bars, the girls are instantly bailed out by a surreal gangster rapper called Alien, originally named Allen (James Franco). This is when the movie takes a hard left turn, losing itself into a world of ecstasy, fetishes, violence and sexual desires.
The movie is crafted together brilliantly, granting us the viewpoint of the 21-year-old party animals we follow. Korine’s camera work draws us in with its abstract and raw handling, presenting us with the dark reality behind the constant sunshine, vibrant neon lights and chemically altered behavior of those having a good time.“Spring Breakers” is a movie about America, exploiting the “American dream” from the perspective of the new generation, more specifically from the viewpoint of girls we see everyday. The first half of the film glorifies the “unforgettable” experience, whereas the last half seeps down to the depths of reality and self-destruction that follows in this lifestyle.
Like Korine’s films of the past (Kids, Gummo), “Spring Breakers” shows us America reminiscent of those consistent news stories we’ve been getting regarding shootings and corruption. He helps us witness his perspective in viewing America as an almost third world country. He’s good at it.The soundtrack is excellent and very fitting, composed by Cliff Martinez (Drive) and Skrillex, creating hypnotic transitions and adding momentum to the haunting buildup as the plot progresses.
“Spring Breakers” is definitely one of the most important movies of the year; many may not understand it but those who do will find it dazzling.
