Ghost World

There is something very tedious about teen angst. Probably because it doesn't change. The whines of one generation are very like the whinges of the generation before and the whimperings of the generation before that. It all tends to make you very impatient. Add to that the fact that films about the poor little darlings have become so stylized that they are starting to have more in common with kabuki than real life. Characters, situations, choices - we've seen them all a thousand thousand times.

Based on the comic book by Daniel Clowes, Ghost World starts out like one of these. There's the graduation scene, where we meet our protagonists - the cool outsiders who are just so above it all; the graduation party where they get to say sarcastic things about all their classmates; and the practical joke at some harmless stranger's expense. But, happily, from that point on it crashes into the harsh realities of life that most movies on the subject shy away from.

Enid (Thora Birch) and Rebecca (Scarlett Johansson) are the smirking outsiders. Enid is dry and sarcastic and although she tries to be above it all, she is painfully aware that Rebecca is more attractive. After graduation both girls vow not to go to college, but to fulfill their dreams by getting jobs and renting an apartment together. Even such a simple goal takes planning, however, and Enid is ill-equipped to tackle independence. Instead she comes up with a cruel practical joke to play on hapless romantic, Seymour (Steve Buscemi). Feeling guilty, she tries to make it up to him by becoming a part of his life and helping him find a girlfriend. This new-found obsession drives a wedge between her and Rebecca as the best friends slowly come to realize that their paths are diverging.

Ghost World is about movement, or the lack of it. Everyone in Enid's life is moving forward: Rebecca, her father, even Seymour in his own sad way. But Enid herself is frozen in a past that wasn't that great, unable to step into a future that demands her active involvement. She is incapable of change, of seeing that High School is over and that mouthing off to superiors on the job will have consequences more serious than detention. She clings to the idea that it is she who is clever and witty and aware, even as everyone passes her by.

Thora Birch brings a melancholy quality to the role of Enid, with a voice that echoes Daria and a manner redolent of every chubby girl who ever tried to brazen it out. Although she's a loser, you like her and hope that she'll be able to find her way out. The creeping desperation as she stops being a leader and starts becoming what she laughed at is heartbreaking, but even she is aware that, deep down, she has no-one to blame but herself. Unreliable, inconsiderate, selfish, her allies fall by the wayside as each in turn discovers that what lies beneath the surface of Enid is a yawning hollowness.

Steve Buscemi in the role of the nerdy Seymour is perfect. Seymour, unlike Enid, knows exactly what he is. He has no pretensions and no false hopes. He knows that he's not attractive to women, and although it saddens him, he understands that it's just the way things are. Enid's attempts to convince him that he is attractive backfire when she proves to be partly right. Even this person, who seemed safely stuck lower down the evolutionary ladder, is capable of the one thing that eludes her - a relationship. Buscemi brings an inner strength to Seymour, imbuing him with an intelligence and moral stature that contrasts with Enid's aimless meanderings.

The endeavor isn't helped by first time director Terry Zwigoff (Crumb), whose previous experience is limited to producing a couple of documentaries. Telling a fictional story is very different, but he seems to be uncomfortable using the camera for anything other than documenting a scene. As a result he falls into all the usual first-timer potholes: static scenes, no cutaways, stagey blocking, etc. The general effect is of a filmed play, rather than a motion picture, and while audience alienation is a valid dramatic tool with an eminent pedigree, it doesn't really seem appropriate here. The production design also misses the mark, attempting to recreate the highly graphic black and white look of the comic through garish color and retro set dressing (Tim Burton has a lot to answer for) that ultimately detracts from the story.

Overall, it's an interesting little film. Certainly worth a look, though whether you'll get the chance is far from certain. MGM/UA are distributing, but no release date has been set. They're probably all sitting around trying to figure out how to promote it, and I don't envy them. This isn't really a movie for the teen crowd, but making wider audiences aware of it, and eager to sit through two hours of smirking downward spiral has to be on a par with trying to get your local Mensa branch to host a special WWF dinner.