White Bird in a Blizzard

By: Christopher Cross, SFU Student

Given the many young adult novels being adapted to film recently, it is no surprise that Shailene Woodley finds herself playing the lead actress in yet another adaptation. What is surprising in White Bird in a Blizzard, is Woodley’s character, Kat; she isn’t an innocent, wholesome girl, but a judgemental, sex-crazed teenager. So, when her mom (Eva Green) goes missing, Kat assumes that she got tired of her father’s (Christopher Meloni) wimpy attitude and decided to have an affair.

Don’t get too caught up in trying to figure out where her mom has actually gone, as it’s really not important in the grand scheme of things. What is important is how Kat deals with her mother’s absence, and the fact that, when writer/director Gregg Araki breaks from the mundane ‘80s nostalgia, there is something magnificent buried deep within the film.

However, it takes time to get there, and the film does not become wholly interesting until after Kat’s abhorrent narration ceases — that is, until the film decides to sacrifice all the work it put into a somber ending and wrecks it with more terrible narration and a five-minute wrap-up of the entire plot.

As a piece of character development, White Bird in a Blizzard shines bright, especially thanks to incredible performances by everyone involved. Eva Green steals every scene she is in, and Shailene Woodley has played a teenager so often in her career that she could do it in her sleep.

Araki’s latest effort is held back, however, by some sloppy storytelling and certain decisions that rob several scenes (such as the ending) of their dramatic impact.

1987

By: Josh Cabrita, Peak Associate

This coarse Quebecois film opens with neon lettering and a synthesizer score alluding to the 1983 masterwork, Risky Business. This is where the references start, and I began to ask myself, when does a movie cross the line from allusion to complete rip off? Most of the time, this quintessential 80s movie that has been recreated for our age hides behind being derivative and only rarely rises above plagiarising far better works.

We’ve seen this story about a horny teenager trying to lose his virginity while partying and partaking in petty crimes with his friends. We’ve seen characters break the fourth wall and talk directly to the audience in a self-aware manner. We’ve seen this kind of nostalgia piece which incorporates hit pop songs from a past era. We’ve seen the plotline which revolves around a teenager crashing or breaking an expensive car. We’ve seen so many movies like 1987 since 1987.