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Paranoid Park

Play trailer Poster for Paranoid Park R 2008 1h 24m Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
Watchlist Tomatometer Popcornmeter
76% Tomatometer 122 Reviews 65% Popcornmeter 10,000+ Ratings
As teenage skateboarder Alex (Gabe Nevins) hops freight trains with a stranger named Scratch (Daniel Liu), a security guard spots them and tries to forcibly remove them. In the scuffle, Alex strikes the guard with his skateboard, knocking him in the direction of another train, which kills him. Alex tosses his board into the river, but soon he and other skaters are called in for questioning by Detective Lu about a recovered skateboard that has been linked to the scene of the crime.
Paranoid Park

What to Know

Critics Consensus

Director Gus Van Sant once again superbly captures the ins and outs of teenage life in Paranoid Park, a quietly devastating portrait of a young man living with guilt and anxiety.

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Critics Reviews

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Alissa Wilkinson Paste Magazine 10/18/2008
In the hands of cinematographic mastermind Christopher Doyle, teenage spats, telephone calls and coasting skateboarders are infused with lyricism and dreaminess. Go to Full Review Marc Savlov Austin Chronicle 10/18/2008
4/5
It's breathtaking, heartbreaking, tragic, gorgeous, and true all at the same time. Go to Full Review V.A. Musetto New York Post 07/16/2008
3.5/4
[An] intriguing, mind-altering skateboard elegy. Go to Full Review David Lamble Bay Area Reporter 06/18/2020
Van Sant retains the lovely insider's perspective of floating on the surface of an alien if familiar-looking planet, courtesy of one-time Wong Kar Wai cinematographer Christopher Doyle. Go to Full Review Mattie Lucas From the Front Row 07/06/2019
3.5/4
Captures the essence of high school life better than most teen movies could ever dream. Go to Full Review Kaleem Aftab The List 11/03/2018
4/5
This is easily Van Sant's most satisfying film of his recent youth alienation pictures. Go to Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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thiago s @Thiagostone 01/23/2025 Filme bacana, o roteiro é bacaninha, o filme mostra a vida de um garoto que anda de skate por aí e faz um pouco de baderna, tem uma cena pesada dele subindo em um trem, um cara foi atrás e outro depois passou e cara velho escorregou no trilho e o trem passou por cima arrancado metade do seu corpo, depois disso ele volta para a sua casa como se nada tivesse acontecido, e depois no outro dia ele transa com uma garota da escola e o filme não tem mais nada de bom e acaba com o garoto andando de skate. O filme não tem muita coisa, a cena de gore do velho salvou o filme, por que seria mais um filme com cenas meio desinteressantes. See more James V @James09007 01/27/2023 Really enjoyed this movie. The filmmaker makes you feel the emotions just with certain shots and frames. See more 12/18/2019 Most unendjoyable movie i ever watched Long scence Bad Acting and Just boring See more 08/11/2019 Gus always has such a dope shooting style, it has to do with things that aren't conventional in normal cinema drama titles. Gabe Nevins absolutely makes you want to root for him, he almost seems like he is just living a regular life. I could watch this movies over and over again, but it was nice to have this moment. See more 09/22/2018 One of gus van sants better films of the 2000s See more 03/31/2018 I had high hopes for this film, so I tolerated the boring scenes in the first third of the movie that had no point that went on way too long. It picked up and I was intrigued and thought I was in for a big payoff. And suddenly, the credits were rolling, and there had been absolutely no resolution. Horribly frustrating. See more Read all reviews
Paranoid Park

My Rating

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Cast & Crew

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Gus Van Sant

Director

Gabe Nevins

Alex

Taylor Momsen

Jennifer

Jake Miller

Jared

Lauren McKinney

Macy

Daniel Liu

Detective Richard Lu

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Paranoid Park

Paranoid Park (2007) Paranoid Park (2007) Paranoid Park (2007) A scene from the film "Paranoid Park." View more photos

Movie Info

Synopsis As teenage skateboarder Alex (Gabe Nevins) hops freight trains with a stranger named Scratch (Daniel Liu), a security guard spots them and tries to forcibly remove them. In the scuffle, Alex strikes the guard with his skateboard, knocking him in the direction of another train, which kills him. Alex tosses his board into the river, but soon he and other skaters are called in for questioning by Detective Lu about a recovered skateboard that has been linked to the scene of the crime.
Director
Gus Van Sant
Producer
Neil Kopp, David Allen Cress
Screenwriter
Gus Van Sant
Distributor
IFC Films
Rating
R (Some Disturbing Images|Sexual Content|Language)
Genre
Drama
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Mar 7, 2008, Limited
Release Date (Streaming)
Mar 13, 2017
Box Office (Gross USA)
$486.0K
Runtime
1h 24m
Sound Mix
Dolby