King Jack

I enjoyed it. Thought it was well shot, thought provoking, and made an effort to build on characters and tie some loose ends together. A reminder of learning to remember the struggles one overcomes, and not blindly allowing it to happen to others.But the Bystander Effect is REAL in this film. The kind that makes your blood boil, and question what the hell prevents another human from intervening. I'm also not appreciative of those same bystanders assuming they can continue to be part of the victim's life. Don't ever standby and watch - it's something you will live with for the rest of your life.

Very fine film indeed, both sensitive, rings true, and is thoroughly engaging. Follows a day or two in the life of 15 year old Jack as he navigates his hardscrabble world of violent bullies, fledgling interactions with girls, and an adolescence that must find its way past shaky bravado & deep humiliation on the way to an awakening sense of responsibility, honesty and vulnerability, and also courage. All this without ever being maudlin or overstated. A small gem.

I'm not sure what the purpose of this movie was, except to portray an equally purposeless pack of feral teenagers in all their sociopathic glory. In scene after scene, we see the same dynamic of hard-core physical bullying and gutless bystanders, devoid of any real character development or plot. We come away from this movie knowing nothing more about what drives the bullying dynamic or how it alters the lives of the victim and perpetrator, except for the stunning revelation (sarc.) that bullying leads to sociopathic behavior and more bullying. The movie offers no resolution or redemption, unless you count the suggestion that the perpetually bullied protagonist, after being beaten to a pulp, might finally show some backbone when he has nothing left to lose. All in all, this movie leaves the viewer with little to think about and with a despairing view of a generation that has absolutely nothing to offer the world or themselves.

Well-acted and for the most part a realistic portrayal of adolescence. The bullying scenes are graphic but they aptly set the stage for Jack's end-of-film maturation. This type of bullying is quite unlikely to happen now in the age of zero tolerance, but it reminded me of growing up in the late 70s and early 80s.

This is one film that will take your breath away. To describe the entire story here would just ruin the entire effect of its message. In brief it is a story of a young man's coming of age in this real world of violence, hatred, loathing, and extreme prejudice! You out there who a very PC inclined and live in a fish bowl of your own choosing, will totally dislike what is shown! Look in the mirror sometime!! NJMJr!!!

Getting bullied by neanderthals is the basic plot of so many "coming of age" movies. The only things that make this (marginally) different from all the others are: [1] After Jack deserts his smaller cousin being brutally bullied by said neanderthals, his cousin soon forgives him and then later comes to his rescue when he's being attacked again, by bashing the attacking neanderthal's head with a bottle of booze, but then the cousin is too scared to come to Jack's aid at the party attack even though he's holding a baseball bat. Go figure. [2] Nobody else at the party, not the girls who supposedly like Jack, nor a bunch of cowardly guys just watching, as if petrified, tries to help him at all when there's only a single guy kicking and beating him, but Jack later happily gets together, like all is forgiven, with those same girls who'd just stood by, frozen, when he was getting beaten nearly to death. (Oh yes, one of them did make him a paper crown.. How nice.) Go figure.

Sad but very realistic coming of age story that captures the life in the 15th summer of young Jack as he navigates his way to adulthood through a drab lower income blue collar neighborhood. I have known a few Jacks in my life and found Danny Flaherty's portrayal compelling and authentic. Dissaffected , gritty and more than a little self destructive as he is one finds ones self rooting for Jack while knowing things aren't going to turn out well for him.

Sweet coming of age story with some socially responsible desegregation.

very good family film and learning right from wrong.

Like movie

Ein sehr gut gemachter Film über einen Jungen aus der Amerikanischen Unterschicht.Der versucht sich selbst zu finden.Wie immer in Independent Filme ist der Jung Schauspieler eine Offenbarung.Nur zu Empfählen.