Chiron Academy

Movie Report on 'Rebel Without A Cause' By Gary Reynolds

Gary Reynolds

10am Film Studies

Mrs. Lin

For my movie report, I have decided to write a about the film 'Rebel Without a Cause' made in 1955. Even though it is an old movie, I really liked it. It got what it was like to be a teenager.

The main character, Jim, is challenged by some guys to be in a game of chicken, he and another guy racing cars towards a cliff. Whoever goes farther is braver. Jim feels like he has to do it or else people with think he's a coward. So he agrees.

Something goes wrong and, while Jim survives, other guy gets stuck in his car and can't jump out in time. The car goes over the edge of the cliff and the guy dies. No one is sure what to do, so they all run. No one wants to get in trouble so no one tells the police. They all decide to keep it a secret. 

This part really got me. Imagine keeping it a secret that your best friend is dead. On the one hand, can't they see that is would be better to tell the cops? But they don't know what will happen if they tell. They don't like where they are in their situation, but they also can't tell anyone for risk of losing what they have.

It doesn't really say what the dead guy's friends would lose if they did get caught. Maybe it would lose them their college. Maybe they would even go to jail. Probably not for long, because they didn't really do anything wrong, but they might still go to jail.

But how can they not tell ANYONE that their friend is dead? You see them together in the movie before that. They are all together all of the time. And then when he dies, they can't tell anyone even though he's their best friend. I bet they would want to tell somebody, anybody. Sometimes keeping a secret can be one of the hardest things you can do. You really are torn between telling someone and not. You can't lose what you've got what but you can't take keeping silent either. 

Jim doesn't want to keep it a secret. He goes to the police station and tries to confess his involvement to the cops, even though he could get in trouble for being involved. But when he gets there, the police don't take him seriously and he leaves. 

That's another thing I like about the movie: the adults think they understand but they don't. Adults aren't perfect. In the movie, the adults mean well, they are all trying to help. We don't see it in the movie because the movie after that becomes more about Jim's friend Plato, but when the truth comes out, will the parents still feel the same? They all have their own stuff going on? Would they get mad or would they really try to understand where the kids were coming from?

I wish I could be like Jim, he just wants to do what's right and it doesn't matter what happens after that. I wonder if maybe I used to be. Maybe that's part of life: we start out as the kids in the movie and then we end up as the adults. Broken bitter people who are stuck being what they made themselves. 

I think you have to be really brave to make choices like Jim makes. I've met some brave people in my life. My friend Todd would do that. He reminds me Jim. He always seems to know what to do. Maybe I can learn to be like Todd and Jim. Maybe we all can.