The Dead Kid

"The Dead Kid" is everything you hope for when you start watching a short film. The cinematography is strong, the sound and editing are invisible (sound is so often a short film's downfall), the score is present at all the right times but not overtly so—the film is feature- quality. But ultimately, what stands out most after viewing "The Dead Kid" is how well-written it is. The story has a forward-motion rarely seen in short films, and even features. Every scene matters in this film, nothing is nonessential. You find yourself deeply engrossed in every character, the main and the supporting. Dialogue is genuine, moments are real; you will find yourself moved to a multitude of emotions throughout the film's entirety. Well-crafted and meaningful, Gregory Goyins and his team of filmmakers have made a substantial piece of film that is surely the beginning of long-line of significant work to come.

Director Gregory Goyins latest masterpiece, The Dead Kid is a thoughtful meditation on the thin veneer that separates life and death, and upon which life, in all of it's fragile interconnectedness rests.Children become the perfect vehicle to explore the theme, not only because we've finally become witness to the danger and the harm of bullying, but because they are often the silent victims of the failures of the adults around them.

Seamlessly binding the terror of the Atlanta child murders into the story, a steady feeling of uneasiness parallels the disturbing events that surround the disappearance of Frankie Thomas, and the disarray and confusion that this creates in a small community. A sort of psychic trauma begins to envelope those involved, tilting reality askew and hinting that the sextant is not merely misaligned, but that the stars themselves have come disjointed. There are no isolated events in this universe as tragedy begins to self perpetuate. Artfully blurring the boundary between life and death, sanity and madness, The Dead Kid resonates powerfully as it hints at the fragility of a life and the web that binds us all.

It would be easy to see this film as a reflection on bullying, and it is that, most assuredly, but in this masterfully sensitive adaptation of Gillian King's short story, Director Greg Goyins again demonstrates a level of insight and command of the medium which is rare among young directors .

I was very much moved by this short story from Gillian King and the way it was brought to life by its director Gregory Goyins.

The Dead Kid is the memory of a childhood time when Frankie, a neighborhood kid who was frequently the target of bullies disappears and the community is shaken up. Frankie's parents are grief stricken while other parents keep a closer eye on their own. As told by Annie, who lived on the same street as Frankie, the other kids run wild with speculation as to what happened to him.

A favorite place for kids to go to was the town dump, which was tended to by the town's dump keeper, Mr. Dunbar. Everything the town no longer wanted or needed would end up there and what is one person's trash is another person's treasure. Mr. Dunbar understood kids, both the good and the bad parts of them.

I think the way Greg Goyins brought out the realness of the kids was excellent, but to me the most important character was Mr. Dunbar. What is beautiful about this film is we can all take from it so many different emotions. I loved it.

And so it is. After much promise--flashes of intelligence, isolated moments of brilliance--Goyins puts it all together in what is certainly his most mature film. Set in the early '80s, The Dead Kid relates the tragic story of an adolescent boy's disappearance in a small coastal town. It is told through the eyes of a same-aged girl (Mandalynn Carlson) whose growing awareness of the surrounding incidents (the boy was bullied by locals) provides a sturdy, empathetic core. Unabashedly literary (based on a short story by Gillian King, who shares screenplay credit), the film effortlessly moves through a nonlinear narrative space, interweaving first person narration with observational storytelling to create a dense, emotionally rich texture. The cinematography has a warm, glowing, nostalgic sheen, and every production detail is calibrated for maximum emotional effect. There are numerous felicitous touches (such as the "Greek chorus" of kids that ease the transitions between scenes) but the biggest revelation, at least to this viewer, is that Goyins proves himself, after the old soul world-weariness of After the Denim and the shocking body horror of Vitriolage, a sensitive director of children. But to say so doesn't convey the full effect of watching The Dead Kid. It has to be seen to be believed. Goyins and his team of collaborators have made a small classic that speaks to specific social issues (race, class, bullying, etc.) without neglecting the all important human element. In short, it is a major accomplishment.

Filmmaker Gergory Goyins reminds us what it's like to be at the difficult and transitional age of late childhood in his film The Dead Kid. Annie Baxter lives a normal life. She plays with her friends, camps outside at night, explores her hometown, and she starts noticing boys, hoping they notice her too. Her innocent desire for one boy's attention allows her to look the other away as her crush bullies another child. After the bullied child goes missing, Annie is burdened by her lack of action to defend the boy. Goyins wonderfully illustrates the fear and guilt weighing us down from little mistakes we make for the sake of acceptance by our peers. Most importantly though, the film reminds us to forgive ourselves for these little mistakes. In only 27 minutes, Goyins tells a small story with a big and long lasting emotional impact. This film deserves to be seen and heard.