Tuesday, May 16, 2017
As You Are Adoption Movie Review
When Karen and Tom move in
together, their teenage sons Jack and Mark become stepbrothers of sorts. Karen
and Tom split up due in large part to Tom’s anger, which rips Jack and Mark
apart. Jack and Mark are questioning their sexuality; they each date Sarah, and
also experiment with each other.
(SPOILER ALERT) Jack feels betrayed when Mark starts
dating Sarah; he tries to seduce Mark, but when his efforts fail, he and Mark
go out into the woods, and he kills him. Much of the film is told in retrospect
as various characters are being interviewed by a detective. (END SPOILER)
The Adoption Connection
For a short while, Karen, Tom,
Jack and Mark form a blended family.
Strong Points
As You Are can provide parents
with insights into the possible emotional experiences of teens who are
exploring their sexuality, being bullied, experimenting with marijuana, or who
are in abusive or tense homes. After watching it, parents could have some idea
of what their children and their children’s friends might be feeling and might
be experiencing.
Challenges (SPOILERS AHEAD)
I found the film to be
uncomfortable. It’s well-acted, and it accomplishes something important in that
it does capture realistic experiences for some teens; however, it’s hard to
enjoy a film that ends with one teen murdering another. It’s also difficult to
watch Tom striking his teenage son. It could also be uncomfortable for many viewers
to see two pseudo-stepbrothers kissing passionately. One character brutally
kills a squirrel for fun. Tom swears at Karen. Tom also calls the long-haired,
slender Jack a “girl” and says that Jack should be in the Marines to become
more like a man.
Recommendations
As You Are isn’t an easy film to watch, and it
doesn’t seem like a good fit for teens, and certainly not for kids. For
parents, it’s probably not a movie to watch for fun, but it could have value as
a source of exposure to real issues that many teens experience.
Questions for Discussion
How does Tom’s anger impact his
son?
Which of Jack’s and Mark’s
experiences have you experienced? Which of their experiences do you believe are
common for teens, and which are rarer?
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In my opinion, Jack didnt kill Mark. Mark shoted himself. He did it because he could not live with his homosexuality and on top of that his father was being physically abusive towards him which was getting worst and worst. Jack could not have killed Jack; one because he loved him and two he was shit at shooting, in the scene where the 3 of them go shoot stuff, Jack is the shittiest and Mark was behind a tree when we last see them. and anyway Mark was always into dark stuff at one point where they are both in Mark's room, suicide is written on the wall behind them and lastly what makes me think he committed suicide is that he gave that jacket with a skull to Mark which during almost all of the movie he has on. This movie was heart breaking.
ReplyDeleteThanks for taking the time to comment. It really was a heartbreaking film.
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