Jack & Diane

Released on: January 8, 2013.
Released by: Magnolia Pictures
Director: Bradley Rust Gray
Cast: Juno Temple, Riley Keogh, Kylie Minogue
Year: 2012
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The Movie:

Young love does indeed suck, especially when it's threatening to turn you into a monster. At least, at its core, that's the conceit at the heart of Jack & Diane. The titular characters are played by Riley Keogh and Juno Temple who seem to play out here more like the feature-film debut of t.A.T.u. rather than awkward young lovers.

Diane is visiting her aunt in NYC but is suddenly feeling very much alone when her twin sister Karen disappears, returning to wherever their home is. Diane numbly walks the streets, attempting to find a phone she can use. She eventually encounters Jack, a defiant bit of punk rock individuality and sexuality that both scares and entices Diane. From their early fumblings through their youthful exuberance and accompanying drama, the story here is one sincerely told but without much really happening.

At the film's open, we're teased with an appearance of the monstrous passion or connectivity when Diane has an episode in a club bathroom and the creature suddenly appears. This monster-ism creeps in visually thanks to some wonderfully eerie imagery courtesy of The Brothers Quay. The monster seems to appear when Diane is getting truly, honestly close to her own feelings for Jack. I say “seems” because it doesn't really appear consistently enough elsewhere in the story, though, to make that a valid point. Sadly then the monster becomes more of a gimmick, there for a bit of shock value rather than the proper narrative vehicle it should be.

Jack's a messed up kid but at least doesn't have a monster threatening to burst out of her. But she opens up a great deal to Diane, seemingly reluctantly but it's tough to tell since Keogh is of the Kristen Stewart acting school where nothing is shown because there's no depth there. The soundtrack becomes key then for establishing and demonstrating connectivity between the characters and, fortunately, it is consistent throughout the film. It relies primarily on a version of Only You by Yaz, understanding of the cheesiness but sincere enough to be comfortable and honest with the sentiments expressed.

And that's how the story itself ends up playing out - Diane and Jack do earn their relationship together by making mistakes, being vulnerable, and reaching out to touch one another's souls. It's just a bit of a jumbled mess getting to that point, much like young love is. But the shortcomings in the narrative technique short-circuit that being an intentional point to such an extent that it comes across more as accidental or coincidental.

Audio/Video/Extras:

This Blu-Ray from Magnolia Pictures looks very stunning. This indie film was shot on 35mm so the AVC-encoded transfer comes in full 1080p, carrying the appropriate graininess that really allows the exceptional cinematography to shine. Colors tend to saturate the characters' worlds in the story and the resolution really holds this up nicely here. Likewise, the DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 soundtrack is more than capable since it's never put to the test in the movie. Audio in the film is primarily spoken dialog between two physically close characters so, apart from the music on the soundtrack, it's pretty straightforward and balanced. English SDH and Spanish subtitling options are available and appear clearly defined.

A :10-min. featurette titled Creating a Monster: Behind the Special Effects features the director and lead f/x designer discussing the film's creature effects in great detail. I think this bit is longer than the screen time the creature actually gets in the finished film. It's interesting but makes one wonder why they didn't focus on this non-CGI model more so, given the time and consideration they apparently put into it. They at least talk to the neat sequences done by The Brothers Quay so that's a little bit more intriguing.

Then there's a roughly :5-min. AXS TV: A Look at Jack & Diane which features star Riley Keogh and director Gray interview-style amongst some scenes from the film. It really doesn't add anything to the production narrative but rounds out the themes of the film a bit more.

The Final Word:

Slick, well-shot but ultimately pretty boring Jack & Diane is notable for its attempt at taking the high-art road to examine young love. However, lackluster performances and a story that doesn't really go anywhere combine to undermine the film's sensationalism and fantasy aspects.