February 2, 2024
FILM: DEPARTING SENIORS
DIRECTED BY: CLARE COONEY
STARRING: IGNACIO DIAZ-SILVERIO, YANI GELLMAN, IREON ROACH
RATING: 3 out of 4 stars
By Dan Pal
The teen slasher is not a genre I typically seek out but the Clare Cooney directed Departing Seniors intrigued me. Ignacio Diaz-Silverio stars as Javier, one of several students about to graduate from a fictitious Chicago area high school. Javier is out, gay, and has to contend with bullying by a few jocks. Murders by a masked figure begin to plague the school in the final days of the year. There’s blood and thrills, but if one thinks they know where this is going, they’re in for a few surprises.
What’s interesting about the character of Javier is that he isn’t played as a stereotypic gay teen who takes the negative attention he is getting. Rather he fights back. He’s also outspoken and boasts a charmingly mature personality. His best friend is Bianca who is equally strong and assertive. They make a great team. It would not be unusual to find these kids in the recent Netflix TV series Heartstopper, Never Have I Ever, or Sex Education. They’re nicely developed and very well-played by Silverio and Ireon Roach as Bianca.
The jocks and their friend Ginny who aims for attention as valedictorian of the class are a bit more stereotypical. Yet, they are able to show some sides that make us care about them a bit more than usual for these types of genre characters. The dialogue among most of the characters, both major and minor, is well-written and satisfyingly in keeping with how teens speak today.
The slasher element is not overdone but it is definitely a major part of the plot. The only problem I had was with the script’s timeline and the school’s response to the devastating events that are taking place in this one short week. Little focus is given to the school’s response which today (granted the film takes place in 2019 but that isn’t that long ago) would receive massive police and media attention. Most of the kids seem to go about their school days without much thought about what has been happening. Where is the grief?? A more realistic approach could have been to spread out the events over a longer period of time (and the title could still fit.)
Generally, the film is very well-directed though. My only qualm is that there seems to be too few students in what appears to be a very large high school and campus. Still, the editing and production design are both very impressive with some great uses of flash cuts and visual effects. Clare Cooney has to be commended for her fine direction of all of these elements.
Of course, the film wouldn’t work without so many excellent performances. Silverio and Roach have bright futures ahead of them. The former has the good looks of a Tom Holland-type and an endearing screen presence to boot. Roach goes beyond what could be a stereotypical sassy black best friend role and creates a strong, intelligent, and insightful character.
I think a lot of young people in particular will love the twists in the narrative as well. With the exception of that timeline, this is a fairly well-polished and nicely developed script by Joe Nateras. He does a great job of creating a mostly original take on the high school slasher genre with some interesting and diverse characters.
Departing Seniors played at the Chicago International Film Festival. It is opening on a limited basis including 11:45 PM screenings at the Music Box Theater in Chicago both tonight and tomorrow. Here’s hoping the film gets a wider release.
FILM: DEPARTING SENIORS
DIRECTED BY: CLARE COONEY
STARRING: IGNACIO DIAZ-SILVERIO, YANI GELLMAN, IREON ROACH
RATING: 3 out of 4 stars
By Dan Pal
The teen slasher is not a genre I typically seek out but the Clare Cooney directed Departing Seniors intrigued me. Ignacio Diaz-Silverio stars as Javier, one of several students about to graduate from a fictitious Chicago area high school. Javier is out, gay, and has to contend with bullying by a few jocks. Murders by a masked figure begin to plague the school in the final days of the year. There’s blood and thrills, but if one thinks they know where this is going, they’re in for a few surprises.
What’s interesting about the character of Javier is that he isn’t played as a stereotypic gay teen who takes the negative attention he is getting. Rather he fights back. He’s also outspoken and boasts a charmingly mature personality. His best friend is Bianca who is equally strong and assertive. They make a great team. It would not be unusual to find these kids in the recent Netflix TV series Heartstopper, Never Have I Ever, or Sex Education. They’re nicely developed and very well-played by Silverio and Ireon Roach as Bianca.
The jocks and their friend Ginny who aims for attention as valedictorian of the class are a bit more stereotypical. Yet, they are able to show some sides that make us care about them a bit more than usual for these types of genre characters. The dialogue among most of the characters, both major and minor, is well-written and satisfyingly in keeping with how teens speak today.
The slasher element is not overdone but it is definitely a major part of the plot. The only problem I had was with the script’s timeline and the school’s response to the devastating events that are taking place in this one short week. Little focus is given to the school’s response which today (granted the film takes place in 2019 but that isn’t that long ago) would receive massive police and media attention. Most of the kids seem to go about their school days without much thought about what has been happening. Where is the grief?? A more realistic approach could have been to spread out the events over a longer period of time (and the title could still fit.)
Generally, the film is very well-directed though. My only qualm is that there seems to be too few students in what appears to be a very large high school and campus. Still, the editing and production design are both very impressive with some great uses of flash cuts and visual effects. Clare Cooney has to be commended for her fine direction of all of these elements.
Of course, the film wouldn’t work without so many excellent performances. Silverio and Roach have bright futures ahead of them. The former has the good looks of a Tom Holland-type and an endearing screen presence to boot. Roach goes beyond what could be a stereotypical sassy black best friend role and creates a strong, intelligent, and insightful character.
I think a lot of young people in particular will love the twists in the narrative as well. With the exception of that timeline, this is a fairly well-polished and nicely developed script by Joe Nateras. He does a great job of creating a mostly original take on the high school slasher genre with some interesting and diverse characters.
Departing Seniors played at the Chicago International Film Festival. It is opening on a limited basis including 11:45 PM screenings at the Music Box Theater in Chicago both tonight and tomorrow. Here’s hoping the film gets a wider release.