To others they might be jerks and geeks, but to Blitz’s camera and to his writing, they are just kids.

Jeffrey Blitz’s fictional follow up to his 1999 Academy Award-nominated documentary, “Spellbound,” tells the story of a high school freshman, Hal Hefner (Reece Thompson). Hal aspires to be a great debater, but will need to overcome his pronounced stutter first. In the beginning, he can hardly speak at all around other people.

Hal is drawn into the world of high school debate by a senior named Virginia “Ginny” Ryerson (Anna Kendrick), with whom he falls madly in love. When she transfers to a rival private school, he is devastated. Through heartbreak and angst, Hal finds his “voice” in the world.

Blitz’s narrative is a poignant and very honest depiction of human adolescence. His characters are very real without pandering too much to the classic independent “eccentric.”

They are coming-of-age in a very truthful way, filled with excitement, elation, confusion, rage, isolation and despair. The complex and volatile relationship between Hal and his older brother Earl is a perfect example of Blitz’s careful balance of adolescent emotion.

The film’s soundtrack epitomizes awkward teen angst with the inclusion of the Violent Femmes’ tracks “Blister in the Sun” and “Kiss Off.” It also includes some enigmatic and poetic tracks by American musician Eef Barzelay.

Much like in “Spellbound,” Blitz is focusing on kids outside of the norm, who are very intelligent but not always the most socially apt. He moves beyond their social stigma and finds the very core of their humanity. To others they might be jerks and geeks, but to Blitz’s camera and to his writing, they are just kids. This is one thing that is truly remarkable about both films.

There are times, however, when Blitz turns this film into the very thing that it shouldn’t be: rocket science. At a few points, it gets lost in itself, gets too caught up in Hal, and loses momentum.

Blitz could have benefited greatly by sitting down and editing out a good ten minutes of the film’s 98 minutes. I personally would have liked to see the last scene cut from the film—it’s extraneous and overbearing.

There are, however, beautiful pauses. For example, Hal treads across an enormous screen of snow, and at that moment he is a small black shape in a vast sea of white, just as lost in the landscape as he is in his own life.

“Rocket Science” is a refreshing little film in the wake of the summer slum of Hollywood. It isn’t perfect, but it has humor, charm and humanity…and Seth from “Superbad.”

> Comments