"Rebel Without a Cause;" film review

      Released on October 27, 1955, Nicholas Ray’s highly acclaimed film “Rebel Without a Cause” opened eyes nationwide to rising issues such as parenting, teenage behavior, and societal relationships. The film starred James Dean as the troubled, young Jim Stark; Natalie Wood as Judy, Jim’s troubled crush; and Sal Mineo as Plato, the unstable, clingy friend. I personally did not care for the way the character’s went about handling situations and expressing their emotion. I felt like the actors overreacted at some parts, but seemed to lack emotion during others.

      At the beginning of the film, Jim gets arrested for being publicly drunk and is taken to the local police station where Judy, Plato, and Jim’s family problems are introduced. Judy has been taken to the police station for being out after dark alone, and Plato has been arrested for shooting some puppies. When Jim’s mother, father, and grandmother arrive to pick him up, the audience becomes aware of the parents fighting, the mother's control, and the fathers submissiveness.

      Jim’s determination to stand strong and try to figure life out is put to the test when he meets Judy, ignores his parents wishes, demands moral strength from his father, and stands up to school bullies, resulting in the death of Buzz, Judy’s initial boyfriend and the schools leading bully. After Buzz’s death, Judy (as well as Plato) begin to look to Jim more fervently for strength and understanding. They run away together to a mansion where they proceed to role play; Jim as father, Judy as mother, and Plato as affectionate child.

      Unaware of being followed, they continue this act until the police come and scare Plato into brandishing his (now empty) weapon, leading to his death by gunshot wound that the ignorant police inflicted.

      Throughout the movie, Jim goes out of his way to avoid fights. He doesn’t want to make trouble for anyone but he wants to be strong and stand up for himself too, which creates some confusion on what it means and takes to be a “man.” He even repeatedly asks his father, “ What do you do when you have to be a man?” implying he doesn’t consider his father to be a real man. Judy has mixed emotions on life. She craves affection from her father even though he avidly avoids it, making the audience wonder why such reactions are had between the two of them. Lacking the strong, affectionate father she longed for, she is amazed when she finds Jim, who showers her with feelings of strength and sincerity; she loves Jim's manhood.

      She, like Jim and Plato, just want to escape their life. They don’t like where they are in life, and they are confused about what to do about it. Plato lost his parents influence at an early age, leaving him insecure, clingy, and overly affectionate towards his role models. He even gets to the point where he attempts to replace his father’s memory with Jim so that he can feel cared for and loved by a father figure. He might also have feelings for Jim, something that was unheard of at the time.

      This turn of the century film reflects some major issues that were in the process of completely changing. This movie not only portrays a “teens against authority” stereotype, but it also introduces a “teens versus each other and themselves” conflict. This possibly results from the screenwriters and directors that made these bold new movies. It’s possible that the filmmakers of that era were unpopular geeks throughout high school who wanted to somehow be the hero and get the girl, although they struggled with their own family problems and typical teen emotions. This could explain why they started making movies the way they did; they were, in a way, living through their high school years vicariously through the characters they created. This movie showed how Americans were becoming uneasy about issues such as the roles typically played in “normal,” socially acceptable families, and how to handle rebellious teens.