A Better Place (1997) User Reviews

Raw, uncompromising cinema

[fertilecelluloid · 7/10 · 5 July 2006]

Although marred by some ropey acting, "A Better Place" is a raw, uncompromising piece of cinema. Its subject is teenage angst, alienation and violence, and it takes a consistent path to a nihilistic destination.

Robert DiPatri, in the film's best and most understated performance, plays a newbie high schooler (Barret) who befriends the brittle, caustic Ryan (Eion Bailey). Barret attempts to place an emotional ice pack on Ryan's simmering anger, but his efforts prove fruitless.

Director Vincent Pereira creates a believable high school environment that is rife with sexual frustration and misdirected aggression. The cinematography by Ian Dudley, which is uninspiring but functional, favors a burnt, opaque veneer.

One scene in the Synapse DVD presentation appears to be out of register -- other than that, the grade is fine and the source is relatively unscathed.

The film possesses an authenticity that amps up the intrigue.

A truly impressive first movie from director Vincent Pereira

[DVD_Connoisseur · 8/10 · 16 April 2007]

Shot on a tiny $40,000 budget, "A Better Place" is a very impressive first film from director Vincent Pereira. A study of alienation, teenage life and violence, the film is hard hitting and realistic. The script is impressive with believable dialogue and the performances are excellent.

Robert DiPatri plays the teenager who has to start life at a new school. He soon encounters school bullies and the loner, Ryan, played by Eion Bailey. A relative newcomer at the time this was made, Bailey has since appeared in a number of films and television shows including "Fight Club", "Band of Brothers" and "Almost Famous". The delightfully attractive Carmen Llywelyn plays the feisty Augustine. Jason ("My Name Is Earl") Lee also makes a brief appearance in the film.

As a first movie, this is a genuine achievement and very watchable, despite its technical limitations. Hopefully, we'll see further projects from Vincent Pereira in the future.

A Philosophical Thriller

[rsmolin · 8/10 · 13 September 2002]

The moral stance taken by Barret in this intelligent philosophical thriller is one that precludes any belief in a caring God or for that matter a caring society. Actually, his morality keeps defining itself by the events of the moment. Deeply affected by the horrible tragedy of the death of his parents, he wears a chip on his shoulder and avoids contact with mostly all humanity except for Ryan, who acts as his conscience throughout the film. Ryan maintains his hope for a world that makes sense and is compassionate. But by the end of the story, Ryan himself is engulphed by the blackness of the world, and we witness an awful tragedy.

Kudos to Vincent Pereira, who wrote, edited, and directed this sleeper. The acting and basic quality of the filmmaking is at times a bit amateurish, but who cares, since the object of this film is to make us think about our place in this world. Are people caring or do they exist merely to promote themselves and their own causes. The filmmaker presents a character who sees only the darkness of life, and I believe most of us know that life has many warm and tender moments.

Certainly a must see for thinking people everywhere.

Shocking but excellent film

[sandspider1 · 22 February 2002]

I purchased this film because I am a huge fan of Kevin Smith. When I purchased it, I did not hear very much about it, but was amazed when viewing. A Better Place is a film you think you will hate but end up enjoying it. From the start when Barret finds his Dad I was shocked but was gripped and had to keep watching. Anyone who is a fan of viewaskew productions or independent films should watch this.

Haunting, disturbing, classic

[gascapgt · 7/10 · 26 April 2005]

A fine display of independent cinema, this pre-Columbine movie provokes deep and personal questions and alarms the viewer with its penetrating journey into the human psyche.

Through excellent character development the audience is given the chance to take sides with different characters in the movie, each with their own positive traits and motives and certainly each with their often disturbing flaws. As violence and apathy are used to control and solve problems, we are forced to wonder what we would do in those situations, and who's really the enemy. As actions and reactions become increasingly extreme, the line between right and wrong becomes increasingly obscurred right up to the powerful and provocative ending.

"As for me, there's no more bullets"

[WrathChld · 7/10 · 15 August 2003]

"A Better Place" proves that the grass is not always greener on the other side. When Barret moves with his mom to a new place after the accidental death of his father, a loner (Ryan) befriends him after an altercation with a bully. As the movie progresses, Barret becomes aware of how messed up Ryan is and why he stays to himself. Ryan had a tragic life growing up from the brutal murder of his parents to the emotional beatings he was dealt from his aunt. It was in his "cards" to become the type of person he was.

The movie has some technical glitches here and there with the occasional bad acting. Although it is an Independent film and with that in mind, it's just kicks some serious ... well you know what it kicks. Its a good Independent movie that was brought to us from the View Askew Family. "A Better Place" has its fair share of violence and when I mean fair share I mean allot. It does a good job of contradicting its title. This is not a Better Place. No matter where you go in this world you can find yourself in messed up situations. As this movie shows, messed up situations, would be the understatement of the year.

I recommend this movie if you are into this type of genre and you don't mind the problems that come with viewing an Independent film. A must see in the View Askew Universe.

For the record...

[vink · 8/10 · 7 April 1999]

I never 'blamed' the cast, crew, or cinematographer for any of the admitted flaws in A BETTER PLACE- I did quite candidly talk about my troubles making the film and some of the personality conflicts that arose during production, but NEVER did I 'blame' other people (except for a few shots that turned out screwy- they WERE the fault of the camera operator/DP who assured me they looked good- we were shooting a $50,000 film and didn't have video tap, and I wanted to be able to trust my D.P.)- any conceptual flaws in the film are the result of my naivete at the time as a first-time writer/director.

And, seeing as how you trashed the film Raoul, I can hardly agree that I pointed out EVERY problem you had with the film, 'cause flawed as it may be I'm quite proud of it- you make it sound as if I was up there saying the film sucked, which was hardly the case- unlike a lot of directors though, I'm not afraid to admit that I'm not perfect, and neither is my film, but it is a good film- that I cede to nobody. If you find this kind of honesty "shocking" then so be it.

AND FINALLY, the acting in the film is indeed quite good, particularly the two leads, Eion Bailey and Robert DiPatri.

Vincent Pereira

amazing first film

[Ja9 · 10/10 · 17 March 2004]

This is a very telling first film from a talented writer/director. Production and some of the acting may be rough on the very edges, but the film's tone is poignant and gripping and the leads are strong -- there is a constant heaviness, an anxious quality that resounds even when the film hits slightly offkey. To create that kind of atmosphere with a bare bones budget is the kind of directing that can't be taught.

I suggest anyone who is into psychological thrillers to check this film out. It's low budget, suburban location and characters just adds to the creepy feeling that you could be watching this go down in your own town.

I hope we see more from Mr. Pereira.

84 Minutes I wish I had back

[Banky-8 · 1/10 · 30 March 1999]

I tried very hard to like "A Better Place" but to be totally honest, I wished that I were in a better place, like maybe a minefield. The movie was a sad attempt at trying to be "real" and "hardcore". The acting wasn't horrendous, especially that of Eion Bailey, but it wasn't that fantastic either. The directing on the other hand was downright awful. As was the writing. To me this film came off as a disgruntled attempt to be Kevin Smith (Vincent Perriera's producer on this). The real shocker came after the screening that I attended, when the Director proceeded to point out every fault I had with this movie, and then lay the blame on everyone else (ie. his cinematographer, his actors, his crew in general) and then described shooting as "19 days of pure hell".

Stunning

[darko2525 · 8/10 · 5 September 2002]

(Possible Spoilers)

This movie was shot for about $40,000 from what I hear, and to be honest, it shows it in some spots, with some focus problems in a classroom scene, and an editing screw up in a confrontation scene between the two boys at Ryan's house, but aside from these few technical glitches, this movie is, quite frankly, brilliant. Periera's story is just a study in parch realism, and the amateurish look of the movie only adds to it's reality, as it feels unpolished, unfiltered. This is a study in violence and rage and where they come from. Robert DiPatri is adequate in the lead role of Barrett, but this movie is clearly a showcase for Eion Bailey. I'd been a fan of Bailey's for his small performances in Fight Club, Almost Famous, and as Pvt. David Webster on HBO's remarkable mini-series Band of Brothers, but I was simply not prepared for his performance in this movie. As Ryan, the troubled, lonely teen with a history of violence who befriends Barrett, Bailey makes this film entirely his own with a gritty, blazing performance that sent chills down my spine. Watching the quite rage build within him as the film progresses, and seeing that anger finally spill out in the film's bloody climax, I was unable to take my eyes off of this brilliant young actor. I eagerly await Periera's next project, as well as Bailey's next performance.

The Emperor is not wearing any clothes!

[surenm · 5/10 · 25 September 2002]

Well, someone has to say it! There are 21 comments behind this one and only one that actually speaks the truth about this film! Just because you're making an Indy film doesn't mean you don't have to care what comes out of the camera and just because you're watching an Indy film doesn't mean you don't have to care if it has anything to say at all.

*Minor Spoilers*

There should be a greater purpose in making a film than just 'making a film', you should spend the proper amount of time writing a film and then rewriting and rewriting again. Then when you have that final draft, re-write it one more time just to make sure it's really what you are trying to say. `A Better Place' runs into trouble from its writing alone.

Never mind its amateurish look and fake blood; these can be easily forgiven had the writing been up to par. I wish I could say a lot of Indy films lately showcased better writing but sadly this is not the case. Indy was born out of the shackles and banalities, clichés, trivialities, and other trite conventions of the 'mainstream Hollywood film'. But there used to be something to an Indy film, it used to be something the Independent Producer was really proud of to put his name and his money behind it, however, in recent years the general concern for quality in the Indy film has went into the toilet as IFC and video stores will pick up and distribute almost anything.

What's quality? Well, mainly 3 things, writing, acting, and editing. Directing is something that happens when the other three are done right, a film that's beautifully written, brilliantly acted, and well edited almost always looks and feels good, regardless of who directed it. So what's the problem with `A Better Place'? Well, mainly the writing and theatre-style acting, which results in the appearance of poor directing.

This is a cheesy made-to-be-like-reality teen horror/philosophical thriller, but it is neither 'real' nor philosophical. The intentions are good, I can feel what the director is trying to say, but he is babbling like a baby most of the time. I don't know where he or anyone else on the film went to school but kids do not act and talk like this, at least anyone interesting and worth listening to: kids trying to act like they went to school and had those kinds of friends act like that. Real edgy students are ten times colder and ten times more hateful, spiteful, aggressive, and sexually explicit. Perhaps two of the only films I've seen in the last 10 years that expressed how teens that I care about watching are these days were "Kids", which really captured America's badass inner city high schooler and "Bully" which showcased the utter stupidity, boredom, and animalistic qualities of modern suburbia punks who can't do anything right.

These films accomplish something `A Better Place' doesn't, mainly because the writing is so much more true to life, the acting is subtle yet aggressive, and most importantly, loads of meaningless pretentious dialog doesn't drown out the acting.

Basically, this is the thing, just because you CAN make a film doesn't mean you should. I have a studio quality DV camera, I have 20,000 dollars or so I could go into debt if I wanted to, and I know people in L.A. that do all the jobs I could ever want or need on a set, but that doesn't mean I should go out there and make a film just to say I made one. I know I don't have writing that's solid enough yet. I've got a lot of good ideas but the writing just isn't done or isn't up to par for what it needs to be.

What I'm saying is that Indy directors today that write their own scripts need to take a step back and say, `Wait, even though I can make this film that was snubbed at every studio, rejected by big name Indy producers, and with an unknown cast, it doesn't mean I should. What am I trying to say? Does it come through with my writing, is my writing even realistic? Do people actually talk like that out loud or just in their heads?'

Raoul (the first reviewer) makes the two most important points, `A Better Place' is neither "real" nor "hardcore" -- the two things it tries the hardest at attempting. It's not real because people don't really talk like that out loud and the acting is theatre style, it's over acting for the stage and not under acting for the camera. It's not hardcore because the philosophical badass has nothing to say, wow a God hating nihilist, what else is new, looked around lately? A real badass would have pushed around Barrett and made him submissive, punched the old man or killed him on purpose because he was greedy, raped Augustine in front of Barrett, and eventually made Barrett kill Todd. Disgusting? Well maybe but that's hardcore. Simply put, the characters don't clash enough and their attempts at "hardcore" actions are unfounded and unbelievable, they are too wussy, they are fake and not extreme enough to be believable and scary from today's perspective because they are so extreme.

I can't say anything about the 20 people before that all loved the film, except that all of you and the greater Indy audience in general, need to stop accepting mediocrity and banality in Indy films and realize you're all being DUMBED DOWN by the general drop in quality of these IFC student projects. And to all these directors, stop and think before you make your next film, have some other people read your script, and then again, and then again -- just because you have the resources doesn't mean you should just shoot trivial characters and ideas, make sure you really have something to say that hasn't been said better before.

A refreshing film

[bankyed · 7 April 1999]

Over the past few years, i've only seen a couple of films that had an impact on me. A Better Place was one of them. It was a refreshing change of pace from the generic crap the studios turn out each year. Sure, it has its flaw, but should not be overlooked. Thank god for the the upcoming dvd release, now i can finally show my friends the film i've been talking about for the last year.

A Better Place surpassed my expectations.

[tkd27 · 10/10 · 2 November 2000]

I had heard so much about a Better Place on the internet, and I really wanted to see this film. Going in I realized that I may have unfairly set my expectations to high, and I was slightly afraid the film wouldn't live up to my expectations. After the film finished screening, I picked my jaw up off the ground and tried to figure out just HOW GOOD the film was. It no doubt surpassed every expectation I had for this film. I cannot wait for this film to come out on DVD so I can own it. I strongly recommend this film to EVERYONE reading this.

a wonderful first feature.

[exreckid · 10/10 · 9 December 2002]

i really cannot understand why this film is so poorly rated. upon first viewing it, i was totally blown away. further examination proves that a few things here and there could have been improved, but that takes a back seat to the fact that this is a movie with a clear vision, and a look into a very realistic situation. with such a low shooting budget, and an inexperienced director, cast, and crew, this could have easily devolved into a production similar to other view askew misfires, such as "vulgar" and "drawing flies". if you bought this hoping it would be "mallrats 2", then you missed the point, and i feel sorry for you missing out on what is hopefully the first (and not only) great thing this director does.

Bad beyond description!

[ahlborg77 · 1/10 · 17 February 2006]

This has to be most dreadful motion picture that I've ever seen, I presume the actors went by the so-called "director's" direction and can't really be blamed for this mess. The plot was at best thin as a wafer and that actually didn't matter since this was offensively bad anyway. Since I read in the credits list that the director Pereira even had a starring role in this (I never even noticed his character) amateurish work of cinema one can only assume that this was a work made entirely on someone's backyard. If you ever felt the need to watch something even more incompetent than Freddy Got Fingered this is all you need. The people who made this excrement probably had good intentions but sometimes that's not enough. Nuff said!

One of the best "indie" films ever commited to celluiod...

[jonathan-30 · 10/10 · 5 September 2001]

When my brother and I went to Vieaskew's Vulgarthon 2000 , aside from meeting every one from the films , one thing he and I had talked about on the trip down to Red Bank was Vincent's "A Better Place". We were both real curious to see what this film was abou as we had both been hearing about it for a while. We saw Malcom Ingrams "Drawing Flies" first and then around 11:00 am, Vincent came in to introduce "A Better Place" with Kevin. As soon as the open credits rolled and the opening music started , the chills could be felt in the whole theatre...about 80 minutes later my brother and I sat dumbfounded by what we just watched. I hadn't been moved by a film like that or any for that matter in quiet a while and given the fact that it was produced and shot with minimal fanfare and budget is a big nod to how good Vincent's work and vision of this was. I've since shown the film to some friends on DVD and everytime , the last line ( you who've seen it know what I mean ) just leaves people stuck for something to say except to stare at the screen. If you haven't seen "A Better Place", check out the website , buy or rent the movie , watch it and discuss it with people. In this day of huge budgets and effects with very little effect on the art and purpose of making a film in the first place . "A Better Place" in my mind stands far above any of them.

awesome independent film about teenagers

[TrickGum · 26 September 2002]

Contains Spoiler I'm a huge fan of independent/foreign films about teenagers and this is one of the best ones I've seen. The actors who play Barrett and Ryan are both superb actors who give wonderful performances. Barrett is the geeky new kid at school who moved with his mom to start over after his dad died. No one likes him so he befriends the local psycho who saves him from a beating by another kid. Ryan has real deep emotional problems and is very disturbed but Barrett doesn't notice this at first because all he's trying to do is make friends. Barrett and Ryan's friendship goes very bad when a local man is accidently killed by one of them and then Barrett tries to distance himself from Ryan and of course Ryan being the psycho he is isn't about to just give up the friendship. There's is subplot about Ryan getting into a feud with local bullies and tragedy ensues when one of them goes looking for revenge. What can I say other than this is a very enjoyable entertaining movie. The performances are all true and real this isn't some crappy teen Hollywood movie thats for sure. There's kinda a tiny bit of a romantic subplot with Barrett's female friend but it isn't explored thankfully. I like how Barrett stood up to the bullies instead of just taking their crap. He may look geeky but he's strong willed thats for sure. As far as Ryan goes he's a psycho,a tortured soul, a loner, he has radical ideas about the future of the planet but you still feel sympathy for him because he's so real. I'm sure everyone in life knows someone just like Ryan. It was sad to see what happens to him at the end. In fact I really didn't like how this movie ended but I'm not gonna let that ruin an otherwise enjoyable 70 plus minutes. The movie is very low budget but the cinematography is quite good and captures the mood and atmosphere very well. If you love teenage angst movies or independent movies with smart,well written characters then you should see this. I'm glad I discovered this one. ***1/2 out of ****.

A flawed but terrific film.

[Havan_IronOak · 8/10 · 14 February 2003]

This film tells a powerful story with characters that you care about and a plot that seems genuine and original in many aspects. But this film is terribly flawed. On the positive side, the plot points of this story are well laid out and the narrative (for the most part) flows well, drawing the viewer along on a story that outclasses most of the indie films that I've seen. However this film has some VERY serious negatives. First the dialogue is very poorly written with characters saying things that seem unnatural and at times unmotivated. I am generally ready to willingly suspend disbelief when I'm watching a film but the dialogue in this film was so jarringly bad that my sense of reality kept kicking in which disturbed my enjoyment of the film and distracted me from the more important elements of the film. Finally, the ending scene is wonderful but the director and the writer should have thought more about how to get there without the strange departures from motivated behavior that came before.

On balance, I think that this film is powerful and tells an important story but I will be hard pressed to recommend it to friends unless they can be very tolerant of the truly amateurish elements of the film.

Crude but entertaining.

[JasparLamarCrabb · 8 January 2002]

A BETTER PLACE is a crudely made low budget story of teen alienation that brings to mind the now classic RIVER'S EDGE. The acting is so-so and there is one too many scenes involving fake blood (the movie's low budget shows), but it is fast paced, has a funky soundtrack and its tone is defiantly angry. Check it out.

In Search of A Better Place.

[MichaelHoward · 2 November 2000]

After the death of his father, a young man named Barret (Robert DiPatri) moves to a new town with his mother in search of a new beginning. His first day of school is horrible and everything that could go wrong...does. An outcast loner by the name of Ryan (Eion Bailey) helps him out and the two form an unlikely friendship. However, when Barret starts making new friends and Ryan's philosophical mindset about the world begins to grow more violent, things start to spiral out of control. Ryan begins to fall deeper into hatred and Barret struggles to escape it.

This film is excellent. It is a dark look at teen violence and is extremely moving and powerful. The dialogue is crisp and real throughout. Never is the dialogue overbearing or too long and it is often very moving. Watch for the scenes with Barret and Ryan on the beach and the voiceover in the end for some of the high points. The cinematography is great and Pereira has found the most beautiful location spots in New Jersey. The acting of the two main characters is superb and the rest of the cast shines in his and her roles. Finally, the plot itself is gripping. It constantly keeps the audience wondering what will happen next and the ending climaxes to a breath-taking finale.

Watch many Independent films and you will see an Independent film. The quality is often low and the locations can sometimes be counted on one hand. But watch A Better Place and you will not see an Independent film. Pereira has done more than can be imagined with a final budget of $50,000 and it is definitely a high budget looking film with a low budget price. Too often now-a-days, large companies are Greenlighting and producing horrible movies that contain the worst acting and the most asinine plots you could imagine. It's refreshing to finally see someone make a movie of such high caliber. Vincent Pereira has done this with flying colors for A Better Place.

Very Good

[vorhese76 · 28 July 2002]

I'd just seen Drawing Flies... I bought it on a whim hoping I'd like it as it was a View Askew Production. It was awful. Just awful. So I was worried about A Better Place, but I took another chance. I was very pleased. It was a $40,000 budget but I think it looks good. The acting is so-so in places of course, and there are actually a few blurry scenes, but overall it's very well done. The character who plays Ryan definitely worked well. The story itself was very intriguing and I could relate to it, having grown up in similar situations. It's not a happy story, so don't expect a comedy. Very good. B+

A Stupidly Immoral Film

[[e-mail] · 13 December 2004]

If this film's flaws consisted only of the hilariously shlocky script and the irritatingly self-conscious camera-work, I would not have minded it so much--heck, I would simply have forgotten about it, and moved on. But something else really bothered me about this film: it was cruel.

The screenwriter forces the following formula down our throats: if someone suffers from violent childhood trauma, he will, of necessity, become psychotic and murderous as an adult. There really is no helping him: you might as well "put him out of his misery," to quote the film. The movie's only point and direction was to establish this formula.

This is not only a totally immoral position for the screenwriter to take, it is also a childish and naive world-view. The film's assumption that anyone with severe childhood trauma will become a monster would necessitate that there are only as many people out there recovering from childhood trauma as there are monsters out there harming people. And unless one believes there are hundreds of millions of murderous monsters in the world, then that must mean there aren't very many people with severe childhood trauma--only the occasional Ryan, whose personal situation is rare. This is stupidly wishful thinking, which cruelly congratulates those (like the character Barrett) with cleaner childhoods.

On the plus side, the "I love this land" line was a hoot.

Truth

[czientak · 23 October 2002]

I want to say that I come to these forums a lot to see what the general public thinks about a movie. Sometimes to see if I would like to see it myself and other times just to see the reaction of others. My biggest pet peeve is when people think that their opinion is the truth. Why can't anyone see the "truth" that this movie is horrible. I just scan over these posts as if they didn't exist. Even for movies that I think are bad, someone else may say it was good. This does not make them a liar. ANYWAYS ... I feel better now. This movie was great! I ordered it without even seeing it first. I had that much faith in it! I highly recommend this movie to everyone!

one bad movie

[mcklennox · 21 December 2002]

This movie comes complete with out of focus camera shots,bad acting and just a plain good old lack of imagination.Generally this movie is a showcase of what not to do for future filmakers. In fact all this movie has got going for it is being a viewaskew product otherwise nobody would buy it. I am generally a big fan of good independent films and being a fan of kevin smith is what prompt me to buy this awful movie. If your looking for an enthraling eighty five minutes of entertainment this is not your movie. p.s. I will never be duped into buy something just because it's viewaskew again.

An exceptional piece for what it is, with some genuinely memorable moments.

[TheVid · 23 April 2002]

Here's one of those low-budget, made-in-half-a-month, independent films that allows movie fans a chance to get away from the fabricated, demigraphics-driven drivel coming out of Hollywood on the subject of teen angst. The filmmaker's constraints show throughout but the movie's tight construction and daring observations keep it interesting and thought-provoking throughout. While there is some unnecessary sensationalism evident (mostly the common practice of including the obligatory song-track album instead of subtler instrumental scoring), the "sociopathology" of the film is straightforward and uncompromised. The performances are periodically amateurish, but often far less annoying than a lot of the teen performances from so-called professionals in the mainstream business these days. The presentation on DVD is an exceptional one, honest about some of the unpolished inevitabilities of independent film endeavors, and humorous in a way that adds to the overall enjoyment of the fine work by all involved. The Skywalker work on the sound elements is noteworthy in the Dolby AC-3 version of the soundtrack. A BETTER PLACE is a pretty cool film.