Rebel Without A Cause (1955)

I swear I'm not intending to devote this entire blog to reviewing already revered movies, it just so happens that I always have a mouthful to spew after watching the classics. What can I say? I promise next time I'll review something trashy/obscure...maybe Jean Rollins or Paul Naschy....but for now....

I'll be the first to admit that I flat out HATE the 1950's. The clothes, the music, the underlying racism and homophobia(James Dean himself actually dodged the draft by registering as a homosexual, then considered a "mental disorder"). The entire atmosphere reeked of a sickly-sweet attempt to cover up, to censor, to repress. All this of course culminating in the subsequent cultural explosion in the 60's, which is in my opinion the most creative and original period of all film-making.
James Dean is Jim Stark, the iconic misunderstood youth. We're first introduced to Jim as he lies stone-drunk in the street, playing with a toy monkey(?). His arrest for public drunkenness leads to a highly volatile argument between Jim and his parents("You're tearing me apart!!!"), and it becomes quite clear that Jim is totally unable to communicate with them. Jim starts his first day at his new high school, meeting Plato (Sal Mineo), a frail, friend-less child with no one to look up to, and Judy (Natalie Wood), who belongs to local bully Buzz Gunderson (Corey Allen). A routine trip to a nearby planetarium is disturbed when Buzz and his gang decide to slash Jim's tires, because, well isn't that what teenagers do? Jim calmly tries to defuse the situation, but is eventually enraged into a pseudo-serious switchblade fight when he is repeatedly taunted with "chicken!".
Having beaten Buzz, he is challenged to a game of "Chickie Run" to prove...well....whatever. A cut-up Jim returns home to have a heart-to-heart with dear old dad and finds him scrubbing up spilled food, wearing a frilly apron. Jim is visibly disgusted at his father, so much that he grabs him by the collar and tries unsuccessfully to scold him but unable to find the words. The poignancy of this scene will always stick with me, because not only can it be seen as an example of Jim's disconnect with his father, but also as a reaffirmation of the importance of separate gender roles, another reason why I'm none too fond of 50's-era cinema. After a brief conversation with dad, Jim runs out to meet Buzz on the edge of a nearby cliff. Several kids are in attendance, among them Judy and Plato, who looks up to Jim as a sort-of father figure and hero. Buzz and Jim are to drive side by side to the edge of a cliff, and the first one to jump out before the car goes over is a chicken. Jim jumps out first. Unbeknown to the rest of the audience, Buzz's leather jacket is caught on the door handle, making him unable to leap out and he plummets to his death(He couldn't hit the brakes..?). Horrified, Jim flees home to confront his parents. When he tells them he intends to turn himself in, they vehemently persuade him to keep it a secret. Jim is disturbed deeply by this, and runs off with Judy to an abandoned mansion Plato showed them earlier. Buzz's goons are hot on Jim's trail however, as they believe he ratted them out to the police. After harassing Plato, the gang threaten Jim's parents by tying a live chicken up in their doorway and taunting them from their lawn.
Plato grabs a pistol and goes to the abandoned mansion to warn Jim. The three actually are having a jolly good time, gallivanting around and acting like idiots. It is here where Jim and Judy share a romantic kiss and Judy professes her love for him. While they're upstairs, Plato naps downstairs. His slumber is shattered however when three thugs rush in with chains and chase him. Plato grabs his gun and shoots one in the chest, then wildly shoots at Jim and even a cop as he approaches. Clearly off his rocker, he runs and hides in the observatory from earlier. Jim and Judy follow him inside as the police surround them, and Jim tries gently to persuade Plato to give him the gun. When he finally does so, Jim silently removes the magazine from the gun and hands it back to Plato without him knowing. Just as they are all walking out, situation over, the cops turn all their lights on Plato causing him to freak out and run, and the cops shoot him dead. A distraught Jim is comforted by his dad, who pledges to be reliable and trusting in his son from now on. Jim's parents look at each other and smile inappropriately, Jim puts his arm around Judy and the movie draws to a bittersweet close.
All in all, I have really mixed feelings about this movie. It will forever remain in James Dean's shadow, his fatal car crash a month before the premiere practically cemented its legacy. This basically guarantees that the movie will be overrated , because the viewing public will be emotionally linked to the character and will praise it ad nauseam, regardless of the actual merits of the film itself(i.e. Heath Ledger in The Dark Knight). This might be blasphemous to some, but frankly I didn't care for James Dean here. There were actually quite a few moments where I rolled my eyes, he was THAT unconvincing at times. This is not to say I don't think he was talented whatsoever mind you, but consider this: James Dean was only in 7 movies in his short 24 years. Of those 7, 4 were uncredited roles as an extra. He had leading roles in only 3, and only East of Eden was released during his lifetime. Yet he is consistently ranked among the top male actors of all time in polls and surveys. That is one hell of an impression, and one can only imagine the further heights he would have reached had he spun a few more times around the sun. While not altogether extraordinary, Dean's performance is arguably the only one really worth mentioning, Sal Mineo and Natalie Wood seem woefully expendable, though Wood was nominated for best supporting actress and further went on to have a very successful career before her drowning accident in 1981.
Ultimately, Rebel Without A Cause never really takes it's themes and ideas far enough. All three main characters have issues with their parents, but these issues are merely touched upon instead of fleshed out properly. Perhaps if we actually learned the background behind Plato's parents, the frantic final act would make more sense than it does now. I feel like a tremendous opportunity was missed for a genuine, touching, socially relevant drama, instead of the half-hearted teenage drama/action/romance hybrid it is. Definitely worth seeing, but certainly not required viewing.

For your viewing pleasure, I have included the original theatrical trailer. Enjoy!