Wonderful Story / Lacking Character Depth.

Rating: 6/10 (14 June 2020)

I know my opinion here is not the common opinion and going into this viewing I definitely didn't have high expectations but compared to the story line I feel like the screenplay lacked the insight into the characters the story line needed.
The story was unique and the ending created a plot twist I wasn't expecting and I loved it because it created dynamic between characters that otherwise would have been irrelevant. Watching this movie 17 years after the release date I was, also, surprised at the diversity between the characters that you often don't see in films during this time period. These include ; a character that is mute, a character that had was a great dad with a not so great past, and the fact a young boy was sexually assaulted as opposed to the traditional character of it being a young girl.
These are the reasons where I would have liked to see more character depth as in what the characters were actually thinking and perhaps a narrative into their own thoughts. Were they proud of the things of they did? Were they ashamed? How did a friends sexual assault affect the other two boys? How were these boys raised and how did that come into play in the choices they made as men?
While I understand the length of the film would have made it difficult for all of these questions to be answered I feel like the length of film also made it possible for at least some of these insights to happen.
That being said the screenplay was well done as well as the dialogue and I would recommend to audiences that can handle the content. While it was entirely not for me I do see the appeal and how it could be perfect for others.