Paranoid Park DVD, 2007

While Gus Van Sant’s Paranoid Park is in keeping with the atmospheric work of the films in his previous 'death trilogy', this time around he’s working from a more conventional narrative to capture the awkwardness and pressures of adolescence. The result is a work of breathtakingly personal cinema - intimate, beautiful, and moving. Based on the novel by Blake Nelson, Paranoid Park tells the troubled story of Alex (Gabe Nevins), a Portland high school student who loves to skateboard. But after accidentally causing the death of a security guard, Alex must come to terms with the feelings of guilt that threaten to overwhelm him.