As You Are

A bittersweet homage to the wonders and tragedies of youth that comes with it’s interpersonal relationships: love, loss, bliss, and betrayal. This movie is NOT for those looking for escapism into the retrospects of the social outcasts. It is a movie for those in the struggle of self-identity and what it means to be one’s whole self — even when in the midst of losing all of it.

I made the mistake of renting it instead of buying it but, I watched it twice in the time I had it, and I think it’s probably my favorite film I’ve watched this year. I was kind of hesitant to watch it at first because based on the trailer it looked like a film that would give me the same bad feeling that Closet Monster did but it was so good. Charlie Heaton tore my heart out, but Owen Campbell was unexpectedly wonderful and his performance was so kind and he was just so good. I wish more people would watch this movie and that it gets more buzz because it truly deserves it.

I had been waiting for this movie to come out since it was origionally shown at the sundance fest. To put it bluntley I was really dissapointed with the film.

I had been following this film ever since I read about it in a filmmaking magazine. It felt half-baked and didn't fire on all cylinders. There was enough story for a short film, but kinda strung out as a feature if that makes any sense. I thought the story of the trio and the parents would have been a entertaining film had that been developed more. The ending left me feeling like so much of the film was extra fat to increase length. I think this filmmaker has a good film in him, but it's not this one. Watch this film and decide for yourself. In the first few minutes I was taken out of the film by the clunky editing and shots that lasted too long without holding my attention. I did like the scene where the character's hair covers his black eye until he moves his hair. That was a clever reveal. The scoring was random at times and also took you out of the film. They did a 'oner' shot with a gimbal rig going outside to inside...which was clunky. Certain aspects of the cinematography took me out of the film because I would notice the gimbal jerk or do something funky. The actors were great, but there were a few scenes that didn't work. For example, when the trio learns about the death of Kurt Cobain the acting from the girl is corny and the one character seems to react before fully listening to the radio broadcast. It's as if they already know. I've seen all of them act well in past films so I think it may be the director. I thought the interview scenes could have been cut from the film without hurting the story at all. The story could have gone to many cool places, but the director jumped around and tries to toy with your expectations. In result, he just creates a story that's all over the place. I appreaciated the costume design and the small details to things from my 90s childhood, but it didn't totally sell me on the time-period.

This is a beautiful, sweet movie with an incredible cast. The 90's vibe is spot on in this bittersweet love story.