Review: "Spring Breakers" is Nothing but a Good Time

Left to right: Rachel Korine, Selena Gomez, Ashley Benson
James Franco, and Vanessa Hudgens

Thanks largely to MTV, spring break has become a holiday for young people looking for drugs, nudity, and rocking tunes. For many, it is that moment where priorities fall by the wayside in favor of heightening banal behavior. With a cast that puts the modern collective of Disney starlets in bikinis, a small role by rapper Gucci Mane, and setting the soundtrack to compositions by Cliff Martinez and Skrillex, Spring Breakers almost seems like a studio’s desperate attempt to cash in on this phenomenon. However, there is an ace up the sleeve. Nobody would expect this to be an art film directed by the man behind Gummo and Trash Humpers: Harmony Korine.

A small clue to the film’s brilliant subversion comes in the opening scenes. Skrillex’s “Scary Monsters and Nice Sprites” plays a harmonious melody as scantily clad people dance on a beach. As the track breaks into a loud, aggressive tone, the vibe begins to change. Rarely has a film’s opening scene perfectly expressed the tone of the following 94 minutes so quickly. While the tale of how four college girls get to Florida is innocent and peaceful, it is the second half when rapper Alien (James Franco) becomes prominent that things get loud and aggressive metaphorically.

The story isn’t particularly deep. The four leads aren’t that fascinating. With exception to the religious Faith (Selena Gomez), the girls are interchangeable party animals boasting ridiculous names like Candy (Vanessa Hudgens), Brit (Ashley Benson), and Cotty (Rachel Korine). These characters are essentially surface level and in many ways great representations of the air-headed spring break demographic. There is no reason to care about where these people end up. Whenever they call an unheard parental figure to talk about how they found themselves, it doesn’t feel authentic. If anything, less is known about who we are watching with each passing minute. It is a clever example of character digression.

It works largely thanks to Franco’s performance. As a man obsessed with guns, playing piano and watching Scarface on repeat, he is less intelligent than the rest of the cast. However, very few performances since 127 Hours has seen him at ease and lost in character. He rides the balance between parody and sincerity so perfectly. Once he takes the girls into the dark, violent second half, it doesn’t matter. His cockiness and persona are enough to justify seeing the film simply because he is so fun to be around. He may not do much, but you’ll be thankful once he opens his mouth and becomes one of the most quotable, memorable characters of 2013. With that said, none of these characters have traditional traits and this feels like watching drug-fueled rats in a maze.

Korine has stated that he wrote this with intent of having a fluid narrative. What does this mean? Numerous scenes feel like quiet, meditative moments, letting the imagery speak for itself. The voice over work is also effective, as select dialogue is repeated at varying points in the film accompanied by the sound of guns cocking for reasons never specified. It feels like an ocean in which everything clashes together at a challenging degree at times. For a film about simple-minded folk, it revels in complicated narration quite successfully. This may be the distinct juxtaposition that makes the film work. It also helps that the score by Cliff Martinez, as derivative of his work on Drive as it sounds, clicks away monotonously, waiting for the worst to happen. The movie may be light on dialogue at times, but all of this helps to turn this into an authentic analysis of the titular hobbyists.

Even more impressive is the direction. Korine is a master at creating interesting, lingering shots. The most notable comes early on when from the perspective of a moving car, the camera vividly focuses on the interior of a house. It is done in one take and helps to capture the intensity. Even the shots of everybody partying feels like there is subtext. Another great moment involves a montage set to Britney Spears’ “Everytime.” He manages to create a tonal shift akin to Martin Scorsese’s use of Derek and the Dominos in Goodfellas. While the scenes are beyond absurd, the calming music almost makes it seem beautiful and meaningful to these empty characters. The biggest complement that you can give is that it will force a visceral reaction, and if you are on board for it, it will be euphoric.

The real champion is cinematographer, Benoit Debie, who also turned director Gaspar Noe’s Enter the Void into one of the most vibrant, surreal cinematic experiences of the decade. Here he turns the suburbs and beaches of Florida into a neon-colored confection. Almost everything from the filtered lighting to the actual bikinis seems to glow in the dark scenery. It is hypnotic and unsettling, choosing to make an average party scene feel grotesque just by the lighting. As sexual as the film gets, the exploitation turns into art under the colored lights like neon signs. From the standpoint of the protagonists, this is a strange world, and Debie succeeds at making it surreal and beautiful effortlessly.

This is the great spring break party, warts and all. It may be a lot of fun, but it also knows that there are limits to the joy. For all of the nudity and happy faces, it is the consequences that give this film an extra edge. Many will be turned off by its vapid characters consistently in bikinis and lack of conventional structure. For those that stick around, the film’s more artsier aspects play almost as a party within themselves. Like these characters, it doesn’t matter what happens, just so long as spring break doesn’t end. Korine is a visionary for simply going beyond the hangover and into when it gets desperate. It is a bold move that pays off and like the party itself, leaves the viewer to wonder what they just experienced.

Spring Breakers is a great film because it is so much fun. Sure, it features plenty of debauchery, but there is more subtext. From the whirling narrative to the neon-colored cinematography, this film captures atmosphere so perfectly that for all its flaws, it will leave you with a sense of awe. This is Harmony Korine at his best, reminding everyone that convention and quality are not always exclusive. By going against the grain, he has made one of the most ambitious, original, and exciting films of 2013 so far. It may not have great acting, but it doesn’t need to. This is an atmospheric piece about getting away only to transform into a different person. It will leave a visceral reaction that may be polarizing, but definitely not boring. What Korine has made, for better or worse, is what cinema should be striving for more often.