Palo Alto (2013) Review.

Cast; Jack Kilmer, James Franco, Nat Wolf, Emma Roberts.
Directed & Written By; Gia Coppola.
Based on; 'Palo Alto' by James Franco.

'Palo Alto'  is an American drama adaptation of James Franco's book of the same title.

'Palo Alto' is a stylish, indie-esque feature that portrays a part in the lives of several teens as they struggle with love, first times, drugs and themselves. I am a sucker for these gritty movies of angst and with fellow Virgin Suicides fan Gia Coppola being the director of this past feature, these characters were shown clearly for all their faults, failures and momentary happiness.

The film follows several characters from Franco's book of reckless and accidental teens including; Teddy Morrison, Fred and April, played by well known and constantly rising stars Jack Kilmer, Nat Wolf and Emma Roberts. According to my research and obsessive special feature watching, this was Jack Kilmer's first movie, meaning the first scene he did was his first ever shot. Saying that however, Kilmer did not come across as an amateur, in fact it actually impacted his character a lot and made Teddy much more successful in the way that the shy-ness, the flow of things and dealing with himself in a way where whatever war was going on in his head was silent to the rest of the world made him, almost, the most relatable.

I love the nostalgia and emotion I feel with each scene, character's choices and how they cut stereotypes open to expose everything inside. One thing, THE thing, I look for and adore in movies is when they portray a story or situation which is a topic people prefer to pretend doesn't exist, rather than facing it and acknowledging the fact that just because it isn't happening to you, doesn't mean it's not happening at all. They did this with April, exposing that is, not ignoring, with the character facing tasks of a young female losing their virginity and the serious circumstance that is manipulation, seduction and erotica put on to her by a teacher.

Franco played the role of the technically term pedophile and without sounding too weird, I finally fully enjoyed his role; he played seriously, dark, dramatically and sort of edgy, showing me (not particularly a huge fan) that he can truly be an actor, not just as model who talks about himself through the persona of someone else.

The book is fantastic, but I think I'd choose the movie first since Gia's direction captures what you should SEE in these teens, not just what you should read.

I would recommend this film to most teens, readers, indie filmmakers & lovers. There is something about this small star of a film that makes it huge.

7.75/10

VF.