Director: Harmony Korine
Starring: Selena Gomez, Vanessa Hudgens, Ashley Benson, Rachel Korine, James Franco
Running Time: 94 Minutes
Certificate: 18
Synopsis: Four college girls who land in jail after robbing a restaurant in order to fund their spring break vacation find themselves bailed out by a drug and arms dealer who wants them to do some dirty work.
Back in 1995, director Harmony Korine sent them spinning with his screenplay for critically-acclaimed KIDS. The shocking and disturbing effort gave the 19-year old his break and although he hasn’t stopped working since, this is by far his most commercial and accessible feature in the shape of SPRING BREAKERS.
We follow four American college girls, Candy (Vanessa Hudgens), Brit (Ashley Benson), and Cotty (Rachel Korine) who are looking for any kind of trouble and they’ve recruited Faith (Selena Gomez), a girl they’ve known all their lives but is a more reserved, Christian type. They’re tired with their ordinary existence and saving up to escape this boring life and head off to party on spring break. The trouble is they’re flat broke, and so the three feisty girls (without Faith) balaclava up and audaciously rob their local Chicken Shack. They’re armed, violent and fired up with cocaine and the self-made motto ‘Pretend it’s a video game’ and they pull it off effortlessly.
As they hit Florida, the parties never stop and all four girls float between drink, drugs and other forms of anarchic abandonment until they’re raided at a private party, and end up in jail. Here, they meet James Franco’s Alien, in one of his best roles to date. Franco’s gleaming metal teeth and corn-rowed hair put him in a place that pushes him almost beyond recognition. I sometimes feel he can’t take on a serious role, but his comic ability and slightly unnerving presence come together perfectly as he’s equally creepy and caring, basically bailing the girls out of jail to enrol them into his cult of guns and good times, with a scene of him showing off of his weapons, t-shirts and shorts that is nothing short of brilliant.
Although SPRING BREAKERS takes you on a ride of sun, sex and Skrillex, it also has a coherent storyline, together with some quite stunning DRIVE-style cinematography. There’s also an impeccably suited soundtrack (managed by DRIVE’s Cliff Martinez) alongside continual interesting scene-to-scene frame work. Occasionally, you’ll feel that the editing feels disjointed, but it’s actually in the process of smartly pushing back and forth through the narrative until it returns to a focused point.
It seems that lying underneath is an observation from director Korine on American consumption and the lack of conscience and consequence. SPRING BREAKERS isn’t about exploitation though, it’s about how we all take advantage if it’s something we want for ourselves, a somewhat deeper delve into that addiction in the hunt for desire and control. While some may flounder around in conversation over the obvious sex-appeal of the four leading ladies, they’re ironically missing the bigger picture over the flaunted breasts, bravado and beauty of SPRING BREAKERS itself.
It’s not as serious as it sounds though, there are unforgettable scenes that stick in the memory and bursting with dark humour, plus one specific piano scene that verges on self-parody but somehow…Harmony Korine gets away with it. Go see SPRING BREAKERS, it’s exhilarating, original, and a whole lot of uninhibited ethereal exploration.
SPRING BREAKERS is out now.
