Why Gus Van Sant decided to adapt a young-adult book about skaters is not necessarily clear, but, being that his latest film, Paranoid Park (2007), is at once more satisfying and formally astonishing than any of the entries in his "Trilogy of Death," we should all be glad that he did.
Taking Nelson's narrative about a teenager who, through some unfortunate circumstances, ends up killing a police officer while hopping on a freight train, Van Sant is able to revisit the territory he first walked on in 2003 with Elephant, cataloguing and dwelling on the melancholic wonders of youth. As photographed by Christopher Doyle (most notable for his work with Wong Kar-wai in films like In the Mood for Love [2000] and 2046 [2004]), Paranoid Park looks better than any other film likely to be released this year, mixing both luminous 35mm with grainy Super 8.
The last few years have given us several films about youngsters coping with crime, ranging from the mediocre--Mean Creek (2004)--to the brilliant--Brick (2005)--but Van Sant's endeavor is much more interesting, precisely because it's not pitched as a noir. One gets the sense that, even without the pivotal event, the narrative would be just as tragic; the best way I can describe it would be as "The Thin Blue Line (1988) meets Robert Bresson."
Expertly constructed and beautifully executed, Paranoid Park should convince even those who despise Gerry (2002) and Last Days (2005) that Van Sant is one of the most relevant American directors, and, along with Todd Haynes, the pride of Portland, Oregon.
