Teenage Wasteland (film)

"Teenage Wasteland" is a 2006 film written and directed by Welsh director Andrew Jones. It was funded through the independent film company Steel & Glass Films Ltd. The film is a gritty, cinema-verite style look into the lives of several disenchanted teens and their dysfunctional home lives in Swansea, South Wales. The cast members are relative unknowns and the characters are all based on people director Jones knew in his life. It was highly praised for its realistic, in-your-face look at teen life and won Best Picture Under 75 Minutes at the 2006 Swansea Bay film festival. Director Andrew Jones was inspired by the works of Alan Clarke, Harmony Korine and Larry Clark while making the film. The scenes featuring the teenagers at home with their parents are shot in Black & White whereas the scenes between the teenage characters outside the home are shot in Colour.

Plot

The film is centred around three teenagers in South Wales and follows their lives inside and outside their homes. The film has many similarities with Larry Clark's "Kids", such as drugs, sex, and dysfunction through the teenagers point of view.

Characters

The film's three main characters are:; Leon : Leon is a sixteen year old who outside is very promiscuous as well as being an habitual drinker and drug user. An only child who lives alone with his mother, his father died when he was just ten years old. He has a very close relationship with his mother, which is shattered when she starts seeing a new man, the first boyfriend she has brought home since the death of her husband.; Clarence : Clarence is a sixteen year old who is abused by his stepfather while his alcoholic mother turns a blind eye.; Nicky : Nicky is a sixteen year old girl who is reluctantly being pushed into pursuing a career in modelling by her over-bearing parents who live out their dreams through her. They are unaware that she is actually a self-harmer in the early stages of bulimia.

References

* [http://teenagewasteland.co.uk/ official web site]
* [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0776807/ IMDB entry]

External links

*imdb title|id=0776807|title=Teenage Wasteland
* [http://teenagewasteland.co.uk/] http://teenagewasteland.co.uk/