For
those living in suburbia, it is important to realize this is a city bus, not a
school bus. There are plenty of cranky
senior citizens getting on and off, sometimes prematurely because they are
understandably appalled by the behavior of the hellions in the back seat. They rule the roost by virtue of reputation
and their assertion of authority.
Of
course, regardless of cultural and socio-economic background, all high school
archetypes are present and accounted for.
There is the princess, the less glamorous friend she takes under her
wing, the rebel, the band geek, the cut-up (who is apparently having a bad day
to judge from the videos passing from smart phone to smart phone), and the
scandal-tinged girl. While we can assume
much about where they are coming from, Gondry has them interact in ways that
are smart and sometimes surprising.
While
The We has a deliberately
off-the-cuff, improvisational feel, the action and dialogue come together in
meaningful ways over the course of the bus ride. There is in fact a screenplay, billed to
Gondry, Jeffrey Grimshaw, and Paul Proch, which is always an encouraging
sign. This might be minimalist drama,
but thankfully it is not mumblecore.
Gondry takes his cast someplace specific and they very definitely have
something to say.
Raw
but earnest, the young ensemble clearly identify with their roles (mostly
playing their namesakes). The way the
interaction between alpha male Michael (Brodie) and the troubled torch-bearing
Theresa (Lynn) evolves as the bus steadily empties out is particularly
compelling. Granted, it conveys a
familiar dichotomy between the rotten behavior driven by peer pressure and the
human sort of connections forged on a one-to-one basis. Nonetheless, it is a message that still has
value.
