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One day, at a drug-filled party, teenaged Luke (Cameron Monaghan) foresees
his best friend Stan's (Alex MacNicoll) death by accident, which leaves
him more than a little disturbed - and much more so when Stan actually
dies exactly like he predicted it. Somehow, that story makes it even onto
TV, which first makes Luke a bit of a local celebrity against his will,
but soon people start to think he's a freak. Then Luke foresees the death
of somebody else, an elderly neighbour (Beau Daniels), and he really tries
anything in his power to avert the situation under which that man is
predicted to die - but ultimately dies. This pushes Luke over the edge a
bit, he starts ditching school on a regular basis, gets heavily into weed
and drinking, and while his parents (Juliette Lewis, Aaron Pearl) start to
worry, there's really little they can do, as Luke's at an age where he's
beyond the reach of his parents. The only people who he can really relate
to are his other best friend Fang (Grayson Gabriel) and Stan's girlfriend
Faith (Peyton List) - but then Fang goes off the deep end more and more as
his drug addiction becomes self destructive, and his relationship turns
from first slightly awkward to then almost romantic - until he feels
pushed away by her, thinking she only wants him as a substitute for Stan.
Luke only finds reason in life again when he has a premonition of Fang
dying, and he would never forgive himself if he wouldn't try anything in
his power to prevent that ... Given the basic story of Anthem
of a Teenage Prophet, this could have been an immensely cheesy and
clichéed movieb that tries to drive home its message with a sledgehammer
- but this film is the opposite, as it doesn't try to deliver a
"message" at all but just gives its story and characters time to
unfold, thanks to a deliberately slot pace, an intentional avoidance of
spectacle, and characters that are actually relatable and act believable,
that have their good and bad sides, and that are wrong as often as they
are right - just like in real life. And of course, a strong ensemble cast
also helps to make this a very watchable movie!
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