Permanent Record Movie Review

In Permanent Record, Marisa Silver's excellent film on teen suicide, Alan Boyce is so appealing as a troubled young composer that his death is genuinely horrifying; we never stop thinking about him or missing him for the rest of the movie. His best friend is wonderfully played by Keanu Reeves, so good in 1987's River's Edge. The well-written script neither glamorizes suicide nor betrays the believability of its characters. Although the suicide in the film appears inevitable, the resulting trauma could have resulted in a chain reaction, which wasn't helped by the moralistic approach of heavy authority figures and was only circumvented by other adults who were able to identify and cope with the kids’ grief.

1988 (PG-13) 92m/C Alan Boyce, Keanu Reeves, Michelle Meyrink, Jennifer Rubin, Pamela Gidley, Michael Elgart, Richard Bradford, Barry Corbin, Kathy Baker, Dakin Matthews; D: Marisa Silver; W: Jarre Fees, Alice Liddle, Larry Ketron; C: Frederick Elmes; M: Joe Strummer. VHS, LV, Closed Caption