Film Review: Low Tide Shows The Darkness In “Coming of Age”
Watching Low Tide, it is hard not to think of coming of age classics like “Stand By Me” or “Mid90’s” A rag-tag team of “boys will be boys” with dreams bigger than their town but fears that “their town” is all they will get. Yet, director and writer Kevin McCullin weaves into the film crime, thrills, and brotherly drama to assure that the glitz and glee of nostalgic, “growing up” films is gritted by a harsh reality: it sucks to be poor.
Red, Alan, and Smitty spend their time robbing Jersey Shore tourists and living as if tomorrow never comes, which is a sentiment you understand. These kids are brighter and more perceptive then what they even reveal to each other. Yet, their “fun crimes and games” masks a hopelessness that only builds as the film progresses and Alan recruits his baby brother, Jaeden Martell’s Peter, as a lookout for what feels like their biggest robbery yet.
Frankly, I am a sucker for family dramas, especially ones between siblings. Your older brother is supposed to be your protector and guide, which is something Alan (Keean Johnson) begins to see and struggle with as their “perfect heist” goes wrong. What felt hyped like an Ocean’s 11 heist, trickles into doom and tragedy as Alan and Peter discover a bag of golden treasure and try to hide it from the rest of the gang. It is in this decision that the film soars to the heart of why some young boys go wild; they know, eventually, adulthood in their small/poorer towns will tame them into shadowy version of themselves.
Low Tide | Official Trailer HD | A24
Johnson’s Alan and Martell’s Peter are the hearts of Low Tide because they play to the love/hate relationships of young brothers/ two people seemingly imprisoned by their life. At times, we forget how smart young people are and how much they silence to appear “harmless and fresh.” Alan and Peter feel bright-eyed when they believe selling this gold is the equivalent to buying a ticket and a house in Jupiter. It is as if Fate truly wanted them to have more and be better, but this is an A24 drama, which means nothing goes right. What felt like a kiss from Fortune soon becomes a punch from Misfortune, and, as a viewer, you feel bad because no youth should feel crime is freedom.
Maybe, I am getting too deep or Low Tide is truly a stunning, coming of age tale that uses the exuberant, freshness of its cast to enter its own darkness. By the end of the film what felt like a story about a group of kids being mischievous becomes a dark narrative on a bunch of young men realizing their dark choices have truly been defining their life/ future. The transition is smooth thanks to stellar performances and McCullin’s ability to make a plot twist cut as smoothly as a knife. Low Tide Comes Out October 4.
