Blackbird

Jason Buxton's locally-made, festival darling finally comes to theatres in the earnest depiction of youth justice, Blackbird. Teenager Sean Randall is your typical outsider goth. When his friendship with local “puck bunny” Deanna (Alexia Fast) angers her jock boyfriend, Sean becomes the target of some vicious bullying. Pushed to his breaking point, he crafts an online revenge fantasy that inadvertently comes to the attention of concerned parents. A paranoid town railroads Sean into a violent youth detention facility, where he struggles to remain true to his morals. Star Connor Jessup (TNT's Falling Skies) gives a sunken, fatalistic performance in this isolated character study. For his debut feature, Buxton navigates a difficult line by finding a sombre balance between the Kafkaesque justice system Sean finds himself in and the personal teenage drama that got him there. Blackbird offers a raw, seething experience. —Jacob Boon