DVD Review: The Basketball Diaries
What Parents Should Know
Parents need to know that this story is a gritty look a
group of teenage friends as they succumb to drug addiction, and
as such is probably only appropriate for the most emotionally
mature teenagers. Early in the film, the friends are deeply
affected by the untimely death (due to leukemia) of their pal
Bobby. Obscene language is the norm rather than the exception
as are scenes of violence, including muggings and robberies
perpetrated by the main characters. Men routinely offer money
to Carroll for sex, including his coach. While there are
ultimately consequences for these behaviors, scenes depicting
the highs of cocaine and heroin use do convey a sense of
elation and excitement. One such drug-induced dream has the
trenchcoat-clad protagonist shooting his classmates –- a
scene much discussed in the wake of Columbine. The total effect
of the film is shown to be the source of the real life
Carroll's later success. Also, the presence of DiCaprio and
Wahlberg make this film one likely to pique the interest of
teens.
- Families can talk about how, even before the drug abuse gets out of control for Carroll and his friends, they show little respect for authority in school or at home. How does this set them on their path? How does the death of Bobby seem to contribute to the friends' increasingly negative behaviors? Why do they indulge themselves in the drugs that they have seen destroy others around them? Does Carroll's eventual rehabilitation and subsequent success make his earlier actions forgivable?
BASKETBALL DIARIES traces a fictionalized account of New York actor/writer/musician Jim Carroll's (Leonardo DiCaprio) coming of age. Forsaking his chance at earning a college scholarship based on his basketball talent, Carroll and his friends begin with petty crimes used to finance cheap highs like huffing. Soon they are conducting muggings, break-ins, and car robberies to get the money to score heroin.
Basketball Diariesis a kitchen sink melodrama. DiCaprio's performance is his among his best, pulling no punches while conveying the relentless thirst of a junkie. Aided by a strong supporting cast, including Mark Wahlberg as his closest junkie pal Mickey and Lorraine Bracco as his mother, DiCaprio is able to create empathy for a character that seems to lose all sense of morality very early on in the film.
While the young characters do lack moral compasses, the film itself does not. There are very clear consequences for the teens resulting from their poor decision-making. In some sense this makes the film a potent moral allegory for older teens, warning them of the dangers of drug abuse and crime. However, it can also come across as heavy-handed, and cynical teens may find the film a bit too much like a stern lecture to take the points seriously. DiCaprio's performance does lessen the chance of this, but at times, it also has the unintended effect of making the wretched life of a junkie seem almost attractive. After all, with his later reputation as a club-going womanizer in tow, Jim Carroll may just seem like an unlucky version of the actor himself.
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