MEAN CREEK reminds me a lot of Stephen King's STAND BY ME and William Golding's LORD OF THE FLIES, looking at the issue of childhood bullying and exploring what happens when the tables are turned on a bully by one of his victims.

It's a haunting, evocative, beautifully shot little movie, one of those low budget indie efforts that eschews special effects and melodrama in favour of solid characterisation and tight, focused scripting. You get caught up in the lives of the characters right from the outset and the film keeps you glued to the screen until the last moments.

The young cast members are excellent, bringing to life the grittiness and authenticity of the storyline. As the bully, Josh Peck is particularly engaging, remaining an irritating and unpleasant character throughout but somehow eliciting sympathy from the audience at the same time. All in all, this is a tough, uncompromising little movie that proves a refreshing alternative to the latest Hollywood blockbuster.

George Tooney (Josh Peck) is a foul-mouthed big kid obsessed with his video camera. Sam Merrick (Rory Culkin) gets into a fight with him and gets beaten up. Sam tells his older brother Rocky who starts planning revenge with his friends Clyde and Marty Blank. They lure George on a fake birthday trip for Sam. Millie (Carly Schroeder) finds George loud but not necessarily mean-spirited. She convinces Sam to change his mind. Despite the change, a conflict escalates on the trip going down the creek.

This is River's Edge with younger kids. That is very compelling. The kids are solid actors. They feel real. After the incident, they need time living with the secret. It would be nice to have more conflict time as the cops search for missing George. The second half is set up for more drama.

In Oregon, when the bully George Tooney (Josh Peck) beats his schoolmate Sam Merric (Rory Culkin),his older brother Rocky (Trevor Morhan) schemes a prank with his two also teenager friends Clyde (Ryan Kelley) and Marty (Scott Mechlowicz) seeking revenge. They invite George, Sam and his girlfriend Millie (Carly Schroeder) to a boat trip along the river, with the intention of humiliating George and get even. However, Millie convinces Sam to call off the plan and the boys accept in spite of the reluctant Marty. When they decide to play "truth or dare" in the middle of the river, the truth about the prank is disclosed to George and he offends the boys mostly the traumatized Marty, leading the group to an accident with tragic consequences.

"Mean Creek" is a simple, real, powerful and impressive story. The first point that calls the attention is the performances of this young generation of promising and talented actors and actress. I hope they have the same luck of Coppola's boys of "Rumble Fish" and "The Outsiders". The story teaches in a hard way that for each action that we take there are consequences. Further, this is the first honest film that exposes the problematic relationship of an adolescent with gay parents with his friends. "Mean Creek" is certainly one of the best coming-to-age movies that I have ever seen and therefore highly recommended inclusive for teenagers. The Brazilian title is simply awful. My vote is nine.

Title (Brazil): "Pacto Maldito" ("Damned Pact")