Review: Spring Breakers

BY VICTORIA ESTRADA

As most people suspect, trailers tend to showcase the best scenes of a movie, and then when it is actually released, the film turns out to be some big pile of, more or less, nothing. Surprisingly, that isn’t the case with Spring Breakers, which promises much more than what is shown in its previews.

After robbing a restaurant in order to raise money for their crazy spring break antics, Brit, Candy, Cotty and Faith find themselves in jail. When a drug/arms dealer, “Alien,” bails them out, he promises to provide all the fun and thrill the girls could hope for.  As the movie progresses, however, the girls are tested on just how far they’ll go for an unforgettable experience.

Harmony Korine, the director of Spring Breakers, is a strange but unique guy.  It seems like nobody would come up with such complexity for a story about a group of girls in bikinis.  That, along with other distinctive subjects in this film are what makes Spring Breakers stand out. As far as the acting goes, the four lead girls did a fairly decent job, but James Franco really stood out as the star. His character gives off a dark and uncomfortable vibe, but through that, he shows himself to be rather comical as well.  This makes his audience, and fellow characters alike, unsure just what his motives are.

Spring Breakers’ general plot and acting are brilliant, but nobody can deny its excellent visuals and ambience. The lighting in this film is spot on as well as it’s sound, which creates a subtle, never-ending soundtrack that complements the intense imagery perfectly. Even though this movie is called “Spring Breakers,” and is portrayed as a crazy flick based on the stereotype of what goes on during spring break, it really shows how far youths will go to have fun, as their recklessness ultimately leads to demise. Korine’s style is strange and extremely unique, but it also leaves the audience with something to think about.

It’s as if Korine made Spring Breakers to warn a younger generation, through scenes of what every teenager’s expectations are, and at the end, he drops the bomb the endless party’s sad reality.  All of this makes Spring Breakers a film that cuts deeper than just another Project X.