I am not saying Destroy All Girls is a bad movie at all. It has a true gritty indie look, thanks to cinematographer Hunter Zimmy’s excellent use of 16mm film and DV mini-video. Indie films have always cornered the market on raw depictions of unkempt realism, and Zimmy’s camera work amps the grime till it shines like comets. This choice of antiquated formats was a smart choice by Vassilopoulos, as it fits perfectly into the skate video sections of the story. It is also a great way to see New York, making the old girl look almost edgy like she used to. It also created a huge confusion for me in determining what time period this movie is set in. It could have easily taken place at the beginning of the century, except then some modern smartphones show up. So go figure.
“It has a true gritty indie look by cinematographer Hunter Zimmy’s excellent use of 16mm film and DV mini-video.”
Possibly the biggest missed opportunity in Destroy All Girls is more time on the relationship with Alex and her older brother. It is built into this bittersweet dynamic so well in the first act, but then is left to burn on the stove when Alex takes off with the boys. There is a lot of power left unused in Gabriel’s rise and fall as a pro skater, as what he is going through is a lot more interesting than the characters we end up in the van with. One of the film’s most potent scenes in the third act directly references Gabriel’s past, and that scene sinks deeper than everything around it. The parts he is in are gold, with Perez-Abraham doing a masterful job; it’s just a shame he is the bookend. Mesa-Perez also does masterful acting work, as you can feel her frustration pouring off her in waves.
In the end, Destroy All Girls is a perfectly decent indie picture. Like Hard Eight, it feels like a smaller story than a usual feature-length film. A lot of this has to do with the skating adventures on the road not being exciting enough for the movies. The mushroom trip in a cheap motel caused a little flutter, but it feels more like a “you should have been there” than a spectacular time at the cinema. There is a good enough climax and resolution at the end to wrap it up well. But it would have been better as a second act than the third, as it is at the end that everything moves in a direction that would be interesting to watch. Destroy All Girls needed more girls, as sometimes good enough shouldn’t be good enough.
"…camera work amps the grime till it shines like comets."
