Spring Breakers (2012)

Director: Harmony Korine
Stars: James Franco, Selena Gomez, Vanessa Hudgens
Runtime: 94 minutes

Synopsis: Four college girls hold up a restaurant in order to fund their spring break vacation. While partying, drinking, and taking drugs, they are arrested, only to be bailed out by a drug and arms dealer.

Performances: 5/5
Screenplay: 4/5
Editing: 4/5
Cinematography: 5/5
Score/Soundtrack: 4/5

Verdict: Looking for a fun, wild movie about teens partying? Then look away, "Spring Breakers" is definitely not the film you're looking for.

That is not saying that Harmony Korine's flick doesn't contain that, because it does, but it's fundamentally about something completely different. It's about the very thin line that separates dreams for reality. A recurrent theme that was explored both sequentially and visually. Cinematographer Benoit Debie ("Climax". "Enter the Void") does an excellent shot highlighting that by grounding the film's palette at each reality check and making it look like a music video during the fantasy-like sequences. "Spring Breakers" follows four college girls, played by ex-Disney girls Selena Gomez and Vanessa Hudgens, who are complemented by Ashley Benson and Rachel Korine, as they go to extreme lengths to fund their vacation. Ensues days of drinking and partying that take an unexpected turn with the introduction of James Franco's Alien, a character he embodied perfectly. At first, the change of narrative caught me off guard and I wasn't entirely on board with it, but as the movie progressed, the turn started making more and more sense and by the end of it I was completely hooked.

"Spring Breakers" is certainly not a film for everybody and its title may trick some people into thinking that its yet another "Project X" like flick but the reality, much like in the film, is far from that. I thoroughly enjoyed it despite a few flaws that mostly have to do with the repetitive usage of montages and flashbacks, but it's definitely something I can see myself enjoying even more on its second watch.

FINAL GRADE: 8/10