Bang Bang You're Dead

Trevor is bullied constantly at school. One day he threatens to blow up the football team, and the threat is taken seriously; he is kept under supervision at school and everyone stays away from him. The drama teacher, Mr Duncan, gives him the lead in the school play. The play is about a boy who attacks his school with a gun. The parents do not want it staged and press for it to be cancelled. That play is the only thing Trevor has left. Guy Ferland directs. Ben Foster plays Trevor and Tom Cavanagh plays Mr Duncan. The play behind the film is real: William Mastrosimone's stage text of the same name was written to be performed in schools and was licensed to be staged free of charge. The attitude the narrative takes is not on the side of the perpetrator, and it does not leave him unintelligible either; the film shows directly what Trevor is thinking. It was made for television and won awards in America. Ben Foster's playing is what carries it, and the part drew attention to him at the time. Its most arguable side is its method; the idea that art can stop a boy sits at the centre of the narrative, and that claim stands on weak ground. The video camera footage the narrative uses was a new choice in those years. Who it is for: viewers who like drama built on school violence and Ben Foster. Who it is not for: the production is at television scale, the resolution is optimistic, and the subject is handled head on.