Teenage Wasteland (film)
Encyclopedia
Teenage Wasteland is a 2006 film written and directed by Welsh director Andrew Jones
. It was funded through the independent film company Steel & Glass Films Ltd
. The film is a gritty, cinema-verite style look into the lives of several disenchanted teens and their dysfunctional home lives in Swansea
, south Wales
. The cast members are relative unknowns and the characters are all based on people director Jones knew in his life. It was highly praised for its realistic, in-your-face look at teen life and won Best Picture Under 75 Minutes at the 2006 Swansea Bay Film Festival. Director Andrew Jones was inspired by the works of Alan Clarke
, Harmony Korine
and Larry Clark
while making the film. The scenes featuring the teenagers at home with their parents are shot in Black & White whereas the scenes between the teenage characters outside the home are shot in Colour.
's Kids
, such as drugs, sex, and dysfunction through the teenagers point of view.
Leon : Leon is a sixteen year old who outside is very promiscuous as well as being an habitual drinker and drug user. An only child who lives alone with his mother, his father died when he was just ten years old. He has a very close relationship with his mother, which is shattered when she starts seeing a new man, the first boyfriend she has brought home since the death of her husband.
Clarence : Clarence is a sixteen year old who is abused by his stepfather while his alcoholic mother turns a blind eye.
Nicky : Nicky is a sixteen year old girl who is reluctantly being pushed into pursuing a career in modelling by her over-bearing parents who live out their dreams through her. They are unaware that she is actually a self-harmer in the early stages of bulimia.
Andrew Jones (filmmaker)
Andrew Jones is a British screenwriter and director.-Biography:Andrew Jones was born in Britain, in Swansea in South Wales....
. It was funded through the independent film company Steel & Glass Films Ltd
Steel & Glass Films Ltd
Steel & Glass Films Ltd was a film production company set up in 2004 by screenwriter/director Andrew Jones and actor Gavin Dando and was jointly based in Swansea and Newport in South Wales....
. The film is a gritty, cinema-verite style look into the lives of several disenchanted teens and their dysfunctional home lives in Swansea
Swansea
Swansea is a coastal city and county in Wales. Swansea is in the historic county boundaries of Glamorgan. Situated on the sandy South West Wales coast, the county area includes the Gower Peninsula and the Lliw uplands...
, south Wales
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
. The cast members are relative unknowns and the characters are all based on people director Jones knew in his life. It was highly praised for its realistic, in-your-face look at teen life and won Best Picture Under 75 Minutes at the 2006 Swansea Bay Film Festival. Director Andrew Jones was inspired by the works of Alan Clarke
Alan Clarke
Alan Clarke was a television and film director, producer and writer, born in Wallasey, Merseyside, England.Most of Clarke's output was for television rather than cinema, including work for the famous play strands The Wednesday Play and Play for Today...
, Harmony Korine
Harmony Korine
The story is told from the perspective of a young man suffering from untreated schizophrenia, played by Ewen Bremner, as he tries to understand his deteriorating world. Julien's abusive father is played by Werner Herzog...
and Larry Clark
Larry Clark
Lawrence Donald "Larry" Clark is an American film director, photographer, writer and film producer who is best known for the movie Kids and his photography book Tulsa...
while making the film. The scenes featuring the teenagers at home with their parents are shot in Black & White whereas the scenes between the teenage characters outside the home are shot in Colour.
Plot
The film is centred around three teenagers in South Wales and follows their lives inside and outside their homes. The film has many similarities with Larry ClarkLarry Clark
Lawrence Donald "Larry" Clark is an American film director, photographer, writer and film producer who is best known for the movie Kids and his photography book Tulsa...
's Kids
Kids (film)
Kids is a 1995 drama film written by Harmony Korine and directed by Larry Clark.The film features Chloë Sevigny, Leo Fitzpatrick, Justin Pierce, Harold Hunter, and Rosario Dawson, all of them in their debut performances...
, such as drugs, sex, and dysfunction through the teenagers point of view.
Characters
The film's three main characters are:Leon : Leon is a sixteen year old who outside is very promiscuous as well as being an habitual drinker and drug user. An only child who lives alone with his mother, his father died when he was just ten years old. He has a very close relationship with his mother, which is shattered when she starts seeing a new man, the first boyfriend she has brought home since the death of her husband.
Clarence : Clarence is a sixteen year old who is abused by his stepfather while his alcoholic mother turns a blind eye.
Nicky : Nicky is a sixteen year old girl who is reluctantly being pushed into pursuing a career in modelling by her over-bearing parents who live out their dreams through her. They are unaware that she is actually a self-harmer in the early stages of bulimia.