Mid 90s

The story of a young boy growing up in the LA skate-scene in the mid 90s, this plays very much like an indie film of the period. It’s got that loose spirit as the various skaters hang out and chat and skate. Sunny Sujic as the lead is damn good – right on that cusp of being probably too young for this but still wanting to be part of what the bigger kids are into. The rest of the cast are largely skateboarders who have been picked up to act in this (Katherine Waterston and Lucas Hedges play minor roles as Sujic’s mum and brother respectively) – and it’s a credit to Jonah Hill’s direction that I had wondered after the film “how did he get actors to skateboard that well” – their performances seem like they’re acting veterans who can go deep and real. It’s a film that portrays that phase of youth honestly, about how young men do and don’t support each other, about failures, successes, small kindnesses and minor slights that can bond people and break them. It’s touching and funny and sad and heartbreaking and awkward and dramatic. Definitely worth catching.