Rating of
4/4
Touching
Franz Patrick - wrote on 10/19/08
This is without a doubt one of the best coming-of-age tales I’ve ever seen. I haven’t read the novella by Stephen King which this film was based on so I don’t know how close this movie followed the original material. However, I cannot praise this film any higher. The four main cast is top notch: Wil Wheaton, River Phoenix, Corey Feldman, and Jerry O’Connell. Each of them were put on the spotlight during their journey to see a dead body, so we really got to know them well, despite the film’s running time of only about an hour and thirty-five minutes. Wheaton is the writer whose brother had died, played by John Cusack, and doesn’t feel accepted by his father, Phoenix is the natural leader of the group who is both tough and sympathetic, Feldman is the sarcastic kid and is a bit emotionally disturbed, and O’Connell is the “fat kid” who desperately wants to belong with the group by trying to prove himself. I found this film to be really insightful about not only childhood friendships but all kinds of friendships in general. The scenes where Wheaton and Phoenix would bond by sharing their thoughts and emotions really put tears in my eyes because their acting was top-notch; I felt like I was watching regular people shedding their souls in order to achieve some sort of an understanding. For a pretty short picture, there were so many highlights which include the bridge, the leech, Wheaton’s revenge story around the campire, and of course the scenes where Wheaton and Phoenix were one-on-one, just talking about their failures, successes, and goals. Another actor that is worth mentioning is Kiefer Sutherland as the bully. He’s was intimidating… but in a good way. I was convinced that he could actually hurt the four kids. I have to say that he somewhat kind of reminded me of Emile Hirsch in “Alpha Dog” (the tough guy persona) and “The Air I Breathe” (looks-wise). This was really a joy to watch because each scene has something special and memorable in it. That certain glow that the picture had made it look timeless, and the script combined with Rob Reiner’s excellent direction made this more than just a movie for me.
