What’s Hailey watching? Palo Alto (Spoilers)

“I wish I didn’t care about anything. But I do care. I care about everything too much.” April, Palo Alto

*SPOILERS*

Palo Alto, a teen drama movie released in 2013, is based on James Franco’s short stories titled “Palo Alto.” Palo Alto navigates the lives of several troubled teenagers living in a wealthy city in California. The movie follows five main characters: April (Emma Roberts), Fred (Nat Wolff), Teddy (Jack Kilmer), Emily (Zoe Levin), and Mr. B (James Franco). Each character faces their own struggles in figuring out who they are and who they want to become. April’s storyline dives into the difficulty of teenage relationships. Not sure whether she wants to pursue a relationship with stoner boy Teddy or her flirtatious soccer coach, Mr. B, April finds herself in several distressing situations. Teddy, wanting nothing but to love April, finds himself stuck in a toxic relationship with his best friend, Fred. Despite Teddy’s best efforts to be something more than just a teenage deadbeat, Fred pulls him back down every chance he gets. Fred may be the most hopeless soul in Palo Alto. The entire movie, Fred is either drunk, high, or both. He is reckless and has very little care for anyone but himself. He flirts with anyone he pleases, including Emily. Emily and Fred have one of the saddest story lines in this movie. Emily so desperately wants to fit in that she finds herself giving Fred and his friends sexual pleasures against her better judgment. Emily’s final scene reveals that she felt forced by Fred to engage in sexual acts. Lust, heartache, bewilderment, and languishment are all themes our main characters experience throughout the film. 

Palo Alto is rated a 6.2 on IMDb with over 30 thousand ratings. I feel this is a fair judgment, though I myself would give it a seven out of 10. 

My issue with Palo Alto is that the end felt a little lackluster. I love movies where the ending pulls everything together, giving you that “Ah ha!” moment. There are parts about the ending I like, such as how Teddy left Fred, which signified the end of their unhealthy friendship. However, I felt like there was no closure with Emily. The last scene Emily was in was her being pulled into the pool by Fred, despite her clear statement that she did not want to swim. She is left drenched and lonely. Emily was a troubled girl. But that doesn’t mean she didn’t deserve a happy ending. 

Furthermore, the movie concludes with Fred driving on the highway into the oncoming traffic. Did he die? Did he survive and decide to change his ways? Or did he run away? It is up to us to decide. I know many people enjoy an open-ended finale; however, I do not.

In addition to this, Mr. B should have been arrested. That is the ending he deserved. He was pining after April, telling her he loved her, all while she was only 14 years old. He took advantage of her. Thankfully, April realized she was trapped in a terrible situation and managed to escape Mr. B. 

While there were a few aspects of Palo Alto I disliked, there were many things I loved about it as well. One being the use of hypothetical questions. The movie starts with the question, “If you were in the olden times, what would you do?” Throughout the movie, Fred continues to ask Teddy questions along the same line as this. Why is this relevant, you may ask? The obscurity and diverse array of questions they ponder are a metaphor for not knowing where they are in life. What would you do if this happened, or what would you do if that happened? It all leads back to the teens trying to figure out who they are and what is important to them in their lives. Life is a guessing game, and they can only hope to come up with a clear answer. 

Another reason I liked Palo Alto was that it perfectly depicted teenage life. Not only how they act, but what they feel. Director Gia Coppola uses sustained cinematography and music to display emotions. I can tell exactly what the characters are feeling, even if they don’t say a word. I find each character to be relatable in one way or another. Everyone struggled with different issues, which they either tried to manage or let run wild. In either case, their emotions and issues could be felt through the screen. 

Overall, Palo Alto is a beautiful movie and definitely worth watching. Whether you watch it for the soundtrack, the theme, or simply James Franco, I highly recommend it.