George Washington

A first feature by director David Gordon Green, this is a sensitively observed drama about young adolescents in a poor rural North Carolina town. The loose narrative centres around the attempts of the thirteen year old George Washington (Donald Holden) to make the twelve year old Nassia (Candace Evanofski) fall in love with him. Gradually, through watching the youths interact with each other, with their families and with the townspeople, the film creates a distinct emotional and social milieu. Though its details and observances are realist, the richly evocative cinematography and Gordon’s intimate direction creates a poetry of the everyday. When an accident strikes the group of youngsters, the film takes on a tragic power. But unlike Hollywood corporate work, in “George Washington” there are no easy resolutions or simplistic judgements. This is a truly independent and personal film.