Only The Young (Jason Tippet, 2012): USA

Reviewed by Jaclyn Marie Murdock. Viewed Nov. 5th at AFI Fest 2012

Only the Young is an inspiring documentary film about three teenagers experiencing first loves, defining relationships between friends, and transitioning out of adolescence. Which is all happening during their last years of high school. Jason Tippet, the director, whom has only done a few other small independent films, shot the film solely with a digital camera on tripod. This is surprising because the way the film was edited made it seem like they had plenty of coverage; as in it seemed that there was multiple cameras going at once. The film had such a surmountable realistic quality, that I can not pin point the direct cause for. I believe that it was a result of the comfortable and friendly connection Garrison, Kevin and Skye had with the camera operator (Elizabeth Mims) and director Jason Tippet. They were able to be themselves and not feel as if they had to hold any part of their personality in. Where as in most documentaries the director has some idea of what the people they will be interviewing will say in their response. It could have also been the constant witty humor between the three teens, simplistic camera usage; or a combination thereof that made the audience feel as if they were back in their teens again going through the same problems as these kids.

The film at first was actually only supposed to be about the two main boys, Kevin and Garrison, taking a trip to a skate competition that Garrison was competing at. However, Tippet was so intrigued in the lives of these boys that he decided to extend his film further into these teens lives. Nobody has really done a film in the past featuring adolescent life without over dramatizing and embellishing on events that most likely would not happen on a daily basis for the majority of teens around the world. Which is probably one of the main reasons the film hit me so personally. It brought me back to my early high school days, where my friends and I experienced all the similar struggles. As well the group of friends had the exact dynamic as they did, always having some witty remark to say and having complications with defining where the boundaries of friendship are. This film exposes the true reality of teenage life for what it is and shows that though adult life seems daunting, it is not something to be feared but to be embraced.