Dir: Gus Van Sant With: Gabe Nevins, Lauren McKinney, Daniel Liu Gus Van Sant's tale of a teenager in crisis will be for some the perfect way to wind down from the audio-visual excesses of the past few days. The Catherine Tate Christmas Show it ain't. The park of the title is a skateboard area in Portland, Oregon, where various urban tribes hang out. There's a vaguely menacing feel to the place, which is part of its attraction for some of the troubled youngsters who go there. Alex (Gabe Nevins) is trying to shut out the pain of his parents' divorce, and at first Paranoid Park seems to offer a haven. That changes one night when he becomes caught up in an incident on his way there. Forced to choose between truth and lies, the responsibilities of adulthood or continuing his teenage ways, Alex is put through the emotional mill and turns to his friends for help.

Dir: Gus Van Sant
With: Gabe Nevins, Lauren McKinney, Daniel Liu

Gus Van Sant's tale of a teenager in crisis will be for some the perfect way to wind down from the audio-visual excesses of the past few days. The Catherine Tate Christmas Show it ain't. The park of the title is a skateboard area in Portland, Oregon, where various urban tribes hang out. There's a vaguely menacing feel to the place, which is part of its attraction for some of the troubled youngsters who go there. Alex (Gabe Nevins) is trying to shut out the pain of his parents' divorce, and at first Paranoid Park seems to offer a haven. That changes one night when he becomes caught up in an incident on his way there. Forced to choose between truth and lies, the responsibilities of adulthood or continuing his teenage ways, Alex is put through the emotional mill and turns to his friends for help.

Based on Blake Nelson's novel, Van Sant's movie is a slow, dreamy, painstakingly delicate film that won't be rushed. A tad pretentious and exasperating if not your thing, some kind of wonderful if you recall with fondness Gerry, his 2001 film starring Matt Damon and Casey Affleck, or Last Days. An impressive turn from Gabe Nevins, here making his feature film debut.