The defence The Auteur Devotee
“Form is the argument.”
Every composed frame and deliberate cut is evidence that control can be thrilling in its own right.
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Mean Creek
Crime · Drama · 2004
Teenagers living in small-town Oregon take a boat trip for a birthday celebration. When they get an idea to play a mean trick on the town bully, it suddenly goes too far. Soon they're forced to deal with the unexpected consequences of their actions.
Movie details
Mean Creek
“Beneath the surface, everyone has a secret.”
2004 Crime · Drama 1h 30m
Critical arithmetic
The consensus, allegedly.
Scores change. Arguments endure.
IMDb
7.1 / 10
33.7K votes
Rotten Tomatoes
88 %
Tomatometer
Metacritic
74 / 100
Metascore
TMDB
6.8 / 10
Community rating
External scores via OMDb · CC BY-NC 4.0. Values normalized for display; availability varies by title.
Teenagers living in small-town Oregon take a boat trip for a birthday celebration. When they get an idea to play a mean trick on the town bully, it suddenly goes too far. Soon they're forced to deal with the unexpected consequences of their actions.
CriticWise case file
What this film says about your taste.
Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.
The archetype split
Who fights over Mean Creek?
For the defence
The Auteur Devotee
“You watch the director, not the movie.”
Read their case For the prosecution
The Popcorn Loyalist
“Big screen, big feelings, no apologies.”
Read their objectionThe split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.
Taste neighbourhood
Nearby on the taste map.
TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.
Kids
Drama · 1995
A group of bored, disaffected New York City teenagers spend a day skating, smoking, drinking, partying, deflowering virgins, and getting into fights.
Sweet Sixteen
Crime · 2002
Determined to have a normal family life once his mother gets out of prison, a Scottish teenager from a tough background sets out to raise the money for a home.
Drugstore Cowboy
Drama · 1989
Portland, Oregon, 1971. Bob Hughes is the charismatic leader of a peculiar quartet, formed by his wife, Dianne, and another couple, Rick and Nadine, who skillfully steal from drugstores and hospital medicine cabinets in order to appease their insatiable need for drugs. But neither fun nor luck last forever.
Bully
Crime · 2001
A group of teenagers in South Florida enact a murder plot against their mutual bully, Bobby, who has emotionally, physically, and sexually abused them for years.
Elephant
Crime · 2003
Several ordinary high school students go through their daily routine as two others prepare for something more malevolent.
The Chase
Crime · 1966
The escape of Bubber Reeves from prison affects the inhabitants of a small Southern town.
Hot Summer Nights
Drama · 2018
In 1991, a sheltered teenager comes of age during a wild summer on Cape Cod, getting rich from selling pot to gangsters, falling in love for the first time, partying, and eventually realizing that he's in way over his head.
The Bygone
Crime · 2019
When a young rancher crosses paths with a Lakota girl from a nearby reservation, her mysterious disappearance sparks a search that uncovers a harrowing past and hints at a dire future.
Things to Do in Denver When You're Dead
Drama · 1995
Five different criminals face imminent death after botching a job quite badly.
Requiem for a Dream
Crime · 2000
The drug-induced utopias of four Coney Island residents are shattered when their addictions run deep.
Where it lives
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Streaming availability data supplied by JustWatch.
Names above the title
The people responsible.
Cast & crew
Directed by
Jacob Aaron Estes
Written by
Jacob Aaron Estes
Rory Culkin
Sam Merric
Scott Mechlowicz
Marty
Trevor Morgan
Rocky Merric
Josh Peck
George Tooney
Ryan Kelley
Clyde
Carly Schroeder
Millie
Branden Williams
Kile
Court is in session
Put Mean Creek on trial.
Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.
The prosecution The Popcorn Loyalist
“Technique in search of a pulse.”
Immaculate construction is still construction. The film may be too busy proving its craft to feel alive.