If nothing else, Mid90s is a great example of how film as a vessel for storytelling can take on many different forms. Put this movie up against 90% of the stuff that comes through cineplexes these days, and in some ways, it's almost unrecognizable as a "movie" in comparison to the rest. This film feels more like a documentary (sans talking head interviews) than your typical three-act story with clearly defined character roles and conflict. That in itself is definitely not a criticism—in fact, I'm usually inclined to praise any film that takes advantage of alternative storytelling methods—but I do wonder if maybe just a tad more adherence to tried-and-true story structure, and a clearer realization of purpose, would have made Jonah Hill's directorial debut a little more interesting. The risk a filmmaker runs when pushing against the restraints of "mainstream" or "typical" movie structures is alienating a casual audience; I have a feeling only particularly avid cinephiles, and maybe those who have lived the lifestyles of the characters in this film, will be remotely satisfied by what it has to offer.
The film is focused on Stevie (Sunny Suljic), a maybe-10-to-12-year-old boy in LA whose home life sucks because his single mother isn't around to keep his aggressively insecure older brother Ian (Lucas Hedges) from beating the tar out of him. As an escape, Stevie hooks up with some older kids who hang out at a local skate shop, and becomes acquainted with skateboarding, smoking, and drinking, as well as the typical (if unhealthy) adolescent-boy way of making friends through mockery. Issues arise when Stevie's mother, Dabney (Katherine Waterston), finds out about the no-good punk kids he's been hanging out with and demands that he cease contact.
My broad complaints about accessibility aside, Hill has crafted a strikingly believable, empathetic, and down-to-earth picture of '90s skate-ghetto culture. Performances across the board, especially those of the skate crew (Na-kel Smith, Olan Prenatt, and Ryan McLaughlin) that take Stevie in, feel entirely real; never melodramatic, except in the ways that real people are sometimes melodramatic. The accents, slang, timing, and behavior all feel true to teenage friends of the era riffing on one another. And sure, these are "good for nothing" punks who openly mock cops, skate in traffic, and illegally abuse substances, but through an empathetic, personal lens, Hill creates an incredibly human picture of these kids that the average passerby might never consider. Recent years have provided moviegoers with a number of strong films focused on compassionate depictions of often-maligned-or-ignored members of society—Bo Burnham's Eight Grade, Yann Demange's White Boy Rick, Sean Baker's The Florida Project, to name a few (all produced by A24, to boot)—and Mid90s is no exception. Even Stevie's asshole of an older brother, Ian, is given a few small moments to allow the viewer to cock their head in reconsidered care. If there's anything the film is trying to say, it seems to be that everyone deserves to have their story heard.
Unfortunately, Hill's compassionate picture is a noticeably imperfect one, though it's hard to dig into the root of my criticisms without giving away too much of the story. Ultimately, Mid90s feels uncertain, unfocused, and perhaps nomadic in its end-goal. Its determination to generate empathy for its characters is admirable, and certainly compelling for awhile. But even at a brief 84-minute runtime, the aimless repetition of watching the boys hang out, be jerks, be nice again, and get into trouble grows tiresome. This sense of emptiness and frustration is compounded by the film's abrupt and un-profound (albeit genuinely sweet) ending.
In the end, I would have a difficult time recommending this film to someone. To my movie buffs, I say go for it; I can't promise you'll love it, but if you can see it for cheap, it might be worthwhile for the sake of an offbeat experience. To the skaters and 90s nostalgiaphiles: yeah, give it a watch. To anyone else: eh... I dunno. You're not missing a ton if you don't see it, but maybe it's worth a look just for a fresh and different perspective.
I guess if you've gotten this far in my review, my hope is that you can tell whether or not Mid90s is for you. That's kinda why I wrote it.