Only The Young (Jason Tippet & Elizabeth Mims, 2012): USA

Reviewed by Tarence Glasker. Viewed on November 5 at the AFI Filmfest 2012.

The film Only The Young is a perfect title description for this documentary.  It brings you through some of the common ups and downs a teenager goes through in life. It honestly just brings you back to the high school life style of the young and reckless kids you may have once been at some point.  But don’t get me wrong these guys are far from hoodlums. The documentary is captured with one digital camera,directed by Jason Tippet and is only one of his very few films made as he just begins his directing career. The Cast Sky, Garrison, and Kevin are all very religious with Christ but at the same time they show how they deal with the struggles of a matured teenager. Especially since high school is all about finding your true friends I feel as if that is the message they are trying to get by. No matter what the situation is you can see how Skye, Garrison, and Kevin Conway have such a strong relationship with each other, that it is almost impossible for them to separate. As they help each other over come their first love, personal emotions, and their transition into maturing during their last years off high school.

Sky and Garrison open up the film as a couple but as time goes by their relationship tends to slip away as they start questioning themselves because of what people have to say about them dating. While Kevin Conway who is Garrisons best friend tags along as the side kick who secretly is dealing with his own problems and his feelings for Skye as well. Although his feelings are not like Garrison’s for Sky because his feelings for Skye is more like a crush. But at the same time you never really can tell what teenagers our age are feeling by just watching their actions. And that’s whats so great about this project Jason Tippet put together. Using only one camera to capture this documentary that is once suppose to be about to young christian boys traveling to Arizona to compete in a skating competition to a documentary on  three close friends who open up their lives up on camera to express their feelings and teenage problems.

This was my favorite film i could relate to because of the fact i am the same age as Garrison and Kevin who are also from a California city like the one i grew up in. Although we don’t share the same interest and hobbies as each other, such as I like rap and Garrison and Kevin like hardcore rock. We are both teenager around the same age dealing with the same issues making it easy for me to appreciate the film that much more.