When I realised I was seeing Palo Alto last weekend and read the synopsis, I really thought I was going to see a snapshot of the lives of teenagers in America. Something edgy and raw like 13 or Skins. A more modern telling of the same kind of coming of age story and the trials we all experienced during those adolescent years. When the film began I re-framed my expectations, perhaps this was something more like The Perks of Being a Wallflower, beautifully atmospheric, accessible yet with darker tones, less raw but still realistic in its core values and message. Unfortunately, Palo Alto wasn't anything like 13, Skins or The Perks of Being a Wallflower. It wasn't really anything substantial at all.
Based on a series of short stories written by James Franco, Palo Alto follows four teenagers as they stumble through life trying to figure out who they are and what they want whilst not really figuring anything out at all.
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