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12/06/05
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Mean Creek (2004)
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Reviews Counted:115
Fresh:104
Rotten:11
Average Rating:7.4/10
Consensus: Mean Creek is an uncomfortably riveting glimpse into the casual cruelty of youth.
Theatrical Release:Aug 20, 2004 Limited
Box Office: $295,919
Synopsis: Director Jacob Estes's feature film debut is a remarkably accomplished coming of age drama about death and consequences. When overweight, emotionally troubled George (Josh Peck) beats up a smaller... [More]
Starring: Rory Culkin, Ryan Kelley, Scott Mechlowicz, Trevor Morgan
Director: Jacob Estes
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Reviews for Mean Creek
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04/29/05
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04/01/06
This morality tale takes its time -- almost too much -- setting up characters and relationships, but an undercurrent of suspense and impending doom keeps this Creek on course.
08/20/04
Jacob Aaron Estes's debut film, about an adolescent prank gone wrong, is like an unusually sensitive and well-acted afterschool special.
08/19/04
Top CriticWhile other teen films cling to the sappy and saccharine, first-time writer-director Jacob Aaron Estes' movie has a taut, haunting story that is actually relevant.
09/17/04
Intense and sharply insightful, Jacob Estes' feature directorial debut contains a tight script and some exceptional performances from its young cast.**
08/30/04
That rare movie that manages to be not only an adroit, carefully observed study in character and suspense, but important.
08/27/04
At once endearing and infuriating, Peck has the audience emotionally vacillating between wanting to protect him and wanting to kill him.
08/19/04
First-time feature director Jacob Aaron Estes breathes life into a routine story with his talent for [emotional] detail.
10/30/04
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04/09/05
We've seen much of what goes down in Mean Creek before. But I can't say I've ever seen it portrayed with such high standards of responsibility to the way kids really act, think and judge.
08/20/04
For a first time director to provoke such impressive performances from a young cast is a good sign.
06/12/04
A mature, significant contribution to the unfornately growing trend of films that address teen violence (unfortunate in that we need the trend at all).
04/01/05
Not since Deliverance has such an innocent, lazy trip down a river turned out so bad. Here the actors make a journey from youth to adulthood and it's a rough ride.
08/27/04
A rare film that cares to explore what's going on in the bully's head.
09/02/04
Very much its own picture -- and a damn sight better one than Stand by Me.
09/03/04
Estes has accomplished quite a bit here. In addition to providing a textbook example of suspense, he also makes us want to know what happens to these kids after the screen goes dark.
09/17/04
George -- the seeming villain -- is as complicated a character as Sam.
08/27/04
Imagine a bolder Bully blended with a more probing River's Edge and you'll have some idea of this little drama's strong dramatic and emotional power.
08/19/04
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