Directed by: Miles Joris-Peyrafitte
Written by: Miles Joris-Peyrafitte & Madison Harrison
Starring: Charlie Heaton, Owen Campbell, Amandla Stenberg,
Mary Stuart Masterson, and Scott Cohen
24-year-old director Miles Joris-Peryrafitte intentionally
decided to make a coming of age story while he was still connected to his
youth. He wanted to capture the intensity and weight of adolescence before he
was too old to remember what it was like. The problem with most coming of age
stories, is they are being written and directed by adults who either
romanticize or demonize youth culture. The films are either AMERICAN GRAFFITI
or KIDS, both with merit but disconnected from any reality I ever experienced. We easily forget what it’s like to make
practical contact with life and feel love as a young adult. We too often focus on
the lack of responsibility and view that time in life as a carefree romp. The
lack of scarring can make the teenage years painful in ways that we as adults
are detached from. We are dismissive of and condescend to our former selves.
Our perspective is tainted by the knowledge that, chances are, things will work
out.
AS YOU ARE follows three teenagers who are navigating their
friendships and relationships through the confusing and often painful years
before adulthood. Through a series of flashbacks and police interviews the
story slowly unravels as our characters tell their story. The film is
essentially built as a mystery but unlike most films with this structure the “who
done it” or what happened” is secondary. The character work is upfront, impressive, and
the strongest part of this mystery.
Jack (Owen Campbell) and Mark (Charlie Heaton) meet when
their parents (Masterson, Choen) start to date. The boys have an immediate bond
over music and are quickly inseparable. They’re outsiders in their small town
but have a genuine connection that gives them strength and confidence. Despite
the heightened nature of the narrative design, this film is very much rooted in
a world I recognize and can relate to.
Charlie Heaton will be familiar to most viewers as Jonathan
in STRANGER THINGS. And while his character in AS YOU ARE might be cut from a
similar cloth, (they both come from broken homes, are outsiders…) he plays Mark
with a quiet confidence and innocence that is completely unique. Mary Stuart Masterson plays Karen with nuance
and meaning that could only be executed after a 3-decade film, TV and theater
career. It would be easy to play her character with one-dimension and victimize
her but Masterson delivers a layered performance that simultaneously embraces
and defies expectation. Cohen plays Tom with enough charm that we understand
why Karen falls for him but gives the character enough menace that we see
him as a threat from the start.
From a stylistic side the film feels inspired by Gus van
Sant’s death trilogy (Gerry, Elephant, and Last Days). The floating camera and
long takes give the film a surreal almost dreamlike quality that calls the
accuracy of the protagonist’s memories into question.
AS YOU ARE is at its best when centered on the raw emotional
nature that defines adolescence. The mystery elements of the film have a payoff
but I was never invested in that portion of the story. I’d highly recommend this
film to any child of the 90’s who still thinks THE MELVINS are relevant and
DOUGLAS COUPLAND is an important author.