This film review starts spoiler free. Spoilers further down are hidden

When a cinema offers £3 film tickets, you say “Yes, I’ll take that!” with little regard for the film. As far as I was aware Rebel Without A Cause was an old film and that was pretty much it, so I wrestled my way out of work through a “God Save The Queen” singing Brexit protest and the latest wave of Extinction Rebellion [Insert Rebel Without A Cause Joke here] and arrived to the film 7 minutes late, took my seat and tried to catch up*.

The opening few minutes are in a police station. Quickly I learnt that our main protagonist is Jim (James Dean), a rag-tag trouble maker who has been moved around homes constantly, never settled anywhere or made any friends. He’s been taken in due to drunken behaviour. Judy (Natalie Wood) broke her curfew and dresses provocatively to annoy her dad. Plato (Sal Mineo) is a nut job who’s parents have abandoned him. He is in for shooting puppies.

You’re Tearing Me Apart

When Jim starts school, he recognises Judy, however she goes off with her cool friends straight outta Grease including Buzz (Corey Allen) who takes an instant dislike towards Jim. Meanwhile Plato befriends Jim. Buzz challenges Jim to a knife fight then a game of Chickie Run. Jim has to learn to deal with the consequences of these events as he tries to become a better settled person.

This film thrives as an observation into some micro-chasms of masculinity. Jim’s dad never stands up for himself against his wife and it drives a wedge between father and son. His dad’s indecisiveness and unwillingness to have advice makes Jim act out as he wishes to . Judy’s dad refuses to show her any affection, therefore she provokes him partly for attention and partly out of spite. Plato’s father isn’t around and as Jim becomes his father figure, Jim’s actions will have an impact on Plato’s life.

Like a Bullet

Having been released in 1955, this film is about as old as your mum and it does show. The picture quality is grainy, the fashion is retro and the accents sound era appropriate with overly played dissonant chords at any dramatic moment. Yet with overarching themes of disenfranchised youth and masculinity it is still relevant today and feels more charmingly vintage than outdated.

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For such a corny film and story, the characters feel surprisingly deep. Jim clearly doesn’t wish to be in trouble and has an overarching urge to escape. Plato, despite his madness clearly is just desperate for a family. Judy wants her father’s affections and tries to find them with Jim and Buzz. This is the reason I’ll allow the shallow love interest story (hours after her boyfriend dies) to just about pass.

This ending has plenty of interesting elements. Firstly his parents finding his drawings is expected. We didn’t see him do these drawings, so we have an element of surprise shared with them. This time we have the first example of something in our faces. We see Jonah flip out and his siblings’ reactions. They are confused and at this point we feel Jonah is alone.

The interactions between the characters will make you laugh, especially those involving Plato whose innocence against Jim’s initial nonchalance plays brilliantly. The film also almost made me cry (No tears but that empty feeling). The tragic ending in the planetarium was smartly foreshadowed yet still came as a shock. You hoped they would find a way through yet increasingly knew there was little way out for our misfit family as Jim had learnt his lesson. This was especially poignant as this was the first time Jim cared for someone as a friend and would’ve felt his failure as a father figure would have a fatal consequence.

Summary

Despite it being 64 years old, RWAC still offers deep characters with organic development and a poignant look into the ideas of masculinity. Featuring legendary James Dean, this is a classic. [**Should you watch it?: 👍]

**As this is an old film, I haven’t given it a traditional rating, merely a thumbs up or down. This film certainly warrants a thumbs up.

*Apologies to the other film goers I interrupted arriving late. The crowds around Parliament are mental. I hate it when others do the same. I must say I was shocked there were no adverts and the film started at the advertised time.