Bang Bang You're Dead (2002)

Director:

Guy Ferland

Writer (WGA):

William Mastrosimone (written by)

Release Date:

13 October 2002 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Thriller

Plot:

Trevor is a troubled high school student, thanks to the effects of bullying. This is the story of his fight to break free.

Plot Keywords:

Bomb | High School | Bomb Threat | School Shooting | Drama Teacher

Awards:

7 wins & 1 nomination

Cast

Tom Cavanagh	...	Val Duncan
Ben Foster	...	Trevor Adams
Randy Harrison	...	Sean
Janel Moloney	...	Ellie Milford
Jane McGregor	...	Jenny Dahlquist
David Paetkau	...	Brad Lynch
Eric Johnson	...	Mark Kenworth
Kristian Ayre	...	Kurt
Brent Glenen	...	Zach
Gillian Barber	...	Principal Meyer
Eric Keenleyside	...	Bob Adams
Glynis Davies	...	Karen Adams
Ryan McDonald	...	Vanderhoff
Gary Chalk	...	Chief Bud McGee
Andrew Sabiston	...	Mr. Olsen

MPAA:

Rated R for elements of violence.

Runtime:

87 min | Argentina:93 min | Japan:93 min

Country:

USA | Canada

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Canada:14A (DVD rating) | Spain:13 | Argentina:13 | Australia:MA (cable rating) | Australia:M (original rating) | USA:Open (rating surrendered) | USA:R (original rating) | Sweden:15

Filming Locations:

Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

Company:

Every Guy Productions

Quotes:

Val: It's not what's in a kid's backpack that makes him dangerous, it's what's in his heart.

Soundtrack:

Shoveling Sons

Shining A Light Into A Dark Corner

Most films seek to entertain. This one seeks to educate. The subject here is education itself, specifically American high schools, with their exclusionary social cliques, peer pressure, disgusting hierarchical caste systems, and the inevitable toll that these harsh realities take on students, in the form of depression, anger, and violence.

The film is fictional, but it presents truths that exist most everywhere, to varying degrees. The message could hardly be clearer or more timely. And that message is that for kids, high school functions as an emotional and psychological ... trap.

But if high school is a trap for kids, it's a source of income for teachers and administrators, some of whom thus have selfish motives for preserving the status quo. And for parents, their kid's high school is useful to gauge their parenting skills which they hope will lead to a sense of pride of accomplishment ... for themselves.

In no part of high school life is this pressure more apparent than in school sports, and the film rightly zeros in on this culture. For boys, athletic accomplishment or non-accomplishment is the main, perhaps only, criterion by which they are judged and stamped, and sent on their way to fend for themselves in a society that demands competitive performance.

"Bang, Bang, You're Dead" is a clear, compelling story that shines a needed light into a dark corner of American society. The film should be required viewing for teachers, administrators, and parents. But it won't be required viewing, because a lot of adults would just as soon keep that light turned off.