It's a movie about teenagers from before there'd been a million movies about teenagers, and without any distance whatsoever between the teens' angst and the reality of the movie. The result might seem corny to people used to a little more "perspective" in movies about teenagers, but to me the way Rebel puts you right into that jittery, overemotional, melodramatic, and yeah a little bit silly point of view without any buffer is exhilaratingly radical.

Sure, it's easy to laugh at James Dean shouting "you're TEARING ME APART!," or you can try and remember what made you feel that way when you were 16. It was probably something stupid. Or was it?

This review reportedly contains spoilers. I can handle the truth.

Nicholas Ray's Rebel Without a Cause, while far from perfect, is one of the most influential movies of its time, recrafting the then-fairly unexamined genre of the teen movie and injecting into it depth, moving emotion and rich clarity.

Despite its imperfections (and some of them are quite noticeable), Rebel Without a Cause is an important and still relevant film, featuring a rich and perfect leading performance from James Dean and well-crafted dialogue that has the intended effect, and then some. Strongly infused with power and vigour, which is necessary for a film dealing with its topic, Rebel Without a Cause remains strong, and despite a weak conclusion, powerful.

Jimmy Dean had the Squint N' Stare on LOCK, yo. ON LOCK.

I didn't think anyone could be cooler than cool. James Dean is.

Jimmy Dean had the Squint N' Stare on LOCK, yo. ON LOCK.

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While dated in some aspects, Rebel is without a doubt timeless in it's representation of youthful angst and the questions it asks the viewer about the nature of masculinity.

I really enjoyed Rebel Without a Cause and am pleased that this coming-of-age challenge finally propelled me to get around to actually watching the movie. James Dean is ridiculously fantastic and I liked Natalie Wood too, but I also thought Sal Mineo was given a very interesting character which he handled marvelously. Admittedly the story feels a little clunky in places, but I don't think streamlining the narrative would have made this film any better as it is very character-driven and it these slower moments that really allow the characters to flourish. This, to me, is a perfect rainy afternoon movie and one that I can definitely see myself going back to - after all, it is a classic for a reason.

I liked the reenactment by James (coincidence?!) Franco and his baby brother.

James dean in that iconic red jacket. Doesn't get more middle-class America than that.

Also fun fact: did you know that my totally favorite movie *sarcasm*, The Room (2003), references this film?

Amazing film. Not what I expected. I loved it from start to finish.