Jet Boy (2001) Reviews

• Great Canadian road movie

  Andreas_N2005-12-29

  Jet Boy deals with some very sensitive subjects. It does so with skillful honesty and without falling into stereotypes and melodramatic depictions. It is a real-life drama that convinces with its sincere authenticity and the profound quality of the interaction between the two leading characters. The movie is set in Canada and shot in Vancouver, B.C., Calgary and Linden, Alberta, and the road between. It can be qualified as a road movie and as a drama focusing on characters influenced by their cultural milieu and by each other. The movie has a simple story and is still complex in its plot development as well as in the pace of plot revelations. The audience never stops learning about the two main characters, their individual stories and their background, which provides the movie with tremendous quality and causes curiosity that makes the audience dive into the story and stay alert. The main protagonist is Nathan, played by newcomer Branden Nadon. We are introduced to him as he sells his body on his 14th birthday. These very subtle scenes at the beginning make us aware of how desperate this young boy is. He is a hustler, but still a child. We get a very good impression of his life – a bleak, exploited life without much room for dreams and no way out. Then we are introduced to his family. He has no father and his mother is a drug addict. She dies right at the beginning due to an overdose, which leaves Nathan orphaned and totally isolated. The second main character is a rough and mysterious man named Boon Palmer (played by Dylan Walsh), a man we do not know anything about. Apparently he has a questionable past as some kind of criminal. All we know is that he is up to something and violent if challenged. Nathan is on the road, running away from the social services that would take him in, heading towards Vancouver, when he encounters Boon in a road pub. He associates with him and manages to make the taciturn man give him a ride to the city. On their way they stop in a motel in a small town, where Boon grew up and where he has to settle something. It becomes clear from the very beginning of their traveling companionship that Nathan sees much more than a temporary ride in Boon, but pins all his hopes on him. He does everything to please the man, makes their breakfast and – as some subtle hints reveal – would not mind sleeping in the same bed with him. Once in the small town, we find out some interesting bits and pieces about Boon's past, about his imperious father, about his old flame and his life twenty years ago. We still do not know who Boon is today, but we get a clearer idea of his roots and find out that he is indeed a rather likable person, which we could not expect right from the beginning. The growing relationship between Boon and Nathan is characterized by frictions, but still slowly growing in depth. Boon renews a sexual affair with his old flame while Nathan associates with some local lads. The movie's climax is emotionally stirring and intriguingly played by the two leading characters. Nathan breaks away as Boon neglects his love and his yearning for paternal appreciation. Boon has to finish his job in Vancouver, and there he sees how Nathan offers himself to a client. He follows them and rushes into the hotel room as Nathan is about to be sexually harassed. Boon hugs Nathan, and the emotional turmoil makes the boy break down and cry. As they leave the hotel, we find out that Boon is in fact an undercover cop – something we did not know throughout the entire movie. They drive back to the small town, as it seems happily united. This last aspect is probably slightly, just slightly overdone and a bit corny. The rest of the movie is profoundly authentic and smashing in its sincere character portrayal of a strange man and a young hustler who help each other out of their bleak lives. These two characters carry complex problems and their interaction makes up the emotional thrill of the whole production. The soundtrack is flawless and the camera work lives up to the decisive moments. The other characters are fairly flat, but this is okay here, as the two protagonists carry the burden and define the pace and the quality of the plot development. I give Jet Boy a 9 because it handles a very sensitive issue – child prostitution – frankly and without corny stereotypes. It furthermore delivers a fine character portrayal and focuses on a very strong father-son aspect, set in a cultural stratum in which hope and trust are hard to find and even harder to maintain. The two leading actors are just brilliant, and thus Jet Boy is an authentic Canadian movie, a wonderful portrayal of genuine human struggles

• A Flawed Wonder

  wmadavis2008-11-09

  I gave this a 9 out of 10, which is extraordinary for what, in many ways, is a pretty bad film. Sometimes a movie can touch you, like this one does, even though you know it has some terribly bad aspects like cardboard-cutout characters and unbelievable plot turns. In a movie that often has the complexity and production values of an ABC Afternoon Special, there is the stirring performance of Branden Nadon as Nathan, a young male prostitute, latching onto a drifter he wants to be his ... father figure? lover? both? There are many unanswered questions here, opportunities missed, time spent on uninteresting plot lines. But instead of walking away in disgust, Nadon's performance and character just leaves you hungry for more, and wishing scenes had been expanded. There's a scene where Nathan tells a gay teen who has just kissed him, "I just want to be a good kid," and it so excruciating and sweet and sad you wish the scene had gone on forever. When Nathan accompanies the drifter to the drifter's home town, none of the people he encounters there know how worldly he is, or how wounded he is, and how he longs to belong to someone. It's a poignant performance you won't easily forget.

• An interesting father/son and road trip movie

  jamesbmerak2001-11-19

  This movie reminded me in ways of Stand By Me and Boys In The Hood...very reflective, with themes of growing up and interpersonal relationship, but also like Stand By Me a theme of journey. Except for a somewhat overly sweet ending, the tone of the movie and the characters are right on the mark, exactly right for the themes and plot and character development. The acting was very real and human, and the characters could be easily related to. Even with sometimes sensitive subject matter, never did the acting seem at all false, in fact it seemed particularly true with the hardest subjects. (The sweet surprise ending, however, does not quite make sense with the rest of the plot, and made other parts of the plot seem somewhat unrealistic, though they were quite realistic without this revelation.) I would recommend the film highly. Note that due to sensitive subject matter, parents should probably see the film before letting younger children see it, and watch the film with them.

• One of the best made for TV movies I've seen

  drpakmanrains2010-04-27

  About once or twice a year I find a film that has been seen by almost no one, and yet turns out to be outstanding and should have reached a much larger audience. Jet Boy is in this category. Branden Nadon gives such a superb performance as a boy "Nathan" turning 14 and living in conditions no child should have to endure, that it stirs the "rescue" urge in anyone with a conscience that something like this can happen in Canada or America. The story was written by the director David Schultz, and it is a terrific story. I don't agree that it is a bad movie that nevertheless moves the viewer. I admit it has a few flaws, but most movies do, and they are relatively minor here. Like how Dylan Walsh's "Boon" can so easily reject Nathan after being protective a minute earlier, or how they re-connect in Vancouver when neither knew where the other was in such a large city. Their extended hug near the end is very affecting, and did not hurt the movie in my opinion, as others have suggested. It reflected Boon's realization that he truly cared for Nathan, for he was influenced by his rekindled love interest telling him he is not (and does not have to be like) his own cold, dying, father. Still to see a movie with a raw ugly streetwise theme manage to be uplifting and presented in a way that even young teenagers can watch is quite an accomplishment. It was also great to see a boy who looked to be the age he was playing, rather than an adult playing a much younger person. The scenes where Boon reunites with his high school love and her 13 year old son are beautifully done, and the two boys are so real together, it's hard to believe they are acting. And when the two slightly older boys go out with them and they all get into minor trouble, it seems perfectly believable. Especially when Lloyd, the 13 year old, breaks down and cries at the police station. Each time after I have watched this film, it takes me 30 minutes to stop dwelling on it. I'm so glad I purchased this film sight unseen based on an Amazon recommendation. It is one of my all-time favorites already. I hope some of you reading this will do the same. You won't be sorry.

• What a great film!

  gsmishka2011-09-29

  *** Some BIG spoilers about plot development follow, so be warned *** I caught this movie a few days ago and I've been thinking about it ever since. I almost never write movie reviews here. I'm glad to see a version of this film has made it to DVD. It is hard to explain exactly what makes this such a great film to me, but writing as someone with a few father/son issues of my own this movie has unexpectedly and profoundly affected me. The performances from the leads are great, especially from Branden Nadon and Dylan Walsh, and the story moves along well. Young Branden is just excellent here - he breathes real life into his character - making him both toughened and vulnerable at the same time. Where is he? We need to see more of him as an adult actor. The script may become a little unrealistic at the end to push us towards our happy ending, but I can forgive it that because it's the ending I was hoping for. Some of the other characters are only sketched, but they are all carefully positioned to support the two performances at the heart of this story. I challenge any audience to remain unmoved by the final scenes between Boon and Nathan. How could anyone want anything else for these characters? Love and redemption win for them both, and they find it in each other. I can honestly say that nothing on film has moved me more than this for a long time. If you're used to a diet of slick, multiplex fodder then some of the production values may disappoint you occasionally, but none of that gets in the way of the telling of this neatly crafted little story. Dave Schultz is to be congratulated for creating a very moving independent Canadian film on what I imagine was a limited budget. He successfully navigates a taboo subject to create a little gem of storytelling about fathers and sons. And the track over the closing titles "Whisper in Time" by Bad Religion is killer! Very appropriate. Recommended. Greg