CHICAGO – For “Paranoid Park,” cult director Gus Van Sant returns to high school, which is the setting of his previous chilling look into the Columbine incident in 2003’s “Elephant”. Though not as successful as “Elephant,” “Paranoid Park” evokes a dream-like meditation on the trials and extreme tribulations of a skateboarding teenage boy trying to find his way.

Newcomer Gabe Nevins is Alex: a disaffected adolescent coping with the dissolution of his parent’s marriage. Though essentially a good kid, Alex starts to act out in reaction to his life and separates himself from his family, girlfriend and even his skater buds.

He becomes obsessed with writing down his story, which centers on rebellious Paranoid Park. It’s an erstwhile gathering site for the skateboard culture carved under a bridge abutment in Portland, Ore.

“Paranoid Park” Photo credit: IMDb

“Paranoid Park” Photo credit: IMDb