George Washington Review- By Michael Carlisle

Title: George Washington
Year: 2000
Director: David Gordon Green
Country: US
Language: English

Upon its arrival, George Washington, a film by 25 year old Director David Gordon Green, was quickly recognized at various film festivals as a triumph of American Independent film-making. It transformed familiar attitudes of American life into quite a thought provoking story. The film presents poor, black and white North Carolina preteens as they awaken to love and death. It never becomes preachy, nor does it hold your hand and guide you. I was hesitant to watch this film, because as a middle class Canadian I didn't think I could connect with these characters. I'm glad that I was wrong.

Set in a small town in North Carolina, George Washington is the story of a tight-knit multi-racial group of working-class kids caught in a tragic lie. After a twelve-year-old girl breaks up with her boyfriend for a sensitive, deeply introspective thirteen-year-old boy named George, a bizarre series of events and an innocent cover-up launches their insular group on individual quests for redemption.

"Why did you break up with George?"
"He's too young, I need an older man"
"Get out of here. You're 12, he's 13"

Green's film is not a social protest, nor is it about racism or racial tensions as one might expect a film about multi-racial working class people to be. It is free from Hollywood cliche and various cultural expectations. George Washington perfectly captures themes of alienation, youth and poverty. It has an instilled sense of integrity, intensity, honesty and intelligence. When Greene was asked why he chose the title he said "It takes you back to childhood, when you first heard the name of the great American leader" I didn't necessarily feel nostalgic about Washington, but I can understand where he's coming from. 

The cinematography is breathtaking. Green collaborated with his classmate Tim Orr for the cinematography, who aimed for a deluxe style of filmmaking, shooting in 35 mm anamorphic to make the picture look undeniably professional. George Washington reminds me of the French New Wave, particularly Truffaut's 400 Blows, in the way it was not only shot, but how it treats its young characters with dignity. Green's writing is dramatic and suspenseful, but there are also some funny scenes that remind you that life is not always so grim. If anything, youth have hope.

In conclusion, George Washington left me in awe my first viewing. This is a fine achievement in the art of film, it certainly deserves to be in the Criterion Collection. Green has created a humbling, shining beauty that generations of adults should and will admire. Praise it! 5/5