Alpha Dog (2007)

It does a great job of conveying the world of privileged groups of kids who just have way too much cash and freedom without the maturity that usually comes with having earned those things. I have no idea if the picture it drew is accurate, but I believed it. Just thinking about the way that the school bullies of my youth inspired fear in their victims and loyalty (with, still, a component of fear) in their groupies, I could see how that could magnify exponentially when enabling parents, drugs, and ridiculous amounts of cash get tossed into the mix.

I felt a sense of doom throughout. The arc felt inevitable, and I thought that made the movie feel true -- as right as a wrong situation can be. The actors were all quite good, but I think that Emile Hirsch didn't really work as the group's despot. He was the unquestioned leader -- but I'm not sure why anyone would do the bidding of a guy whose mannerisms and wardrobe reminded me so much of Turtle.

I knew nothing about this film going in -- didn't even have a clue that it was based on real happenings. I was impressed with how close it was to the facts of the case when I did a little research on it.

B+